User controlled collaborative aspirational savings social network system and method having user controlled whiteboard system enabling articulation and end-to-end fulfillment of aspirations

ABSTRACT

An internet-based, user-controlled aspirational savings social network system and associated method for end-to-end articulation, savings, and fulfillment of user&#39;s aspirations bridges the existing chasm between the user&#39;s savings and the purpose for their savings. A network platform facilitates users to discover and articulate aspirations and connects individual accounts assigned to the user&#39;s aspirational goals. A plan is developed for each account and a collaborative savings amplification tool of the platform increases the effective monetary amounts beyond the user&#39;s principal contributions and/or reduces the price of the aspired goods or services to advance the plan in ways that fulfill the aspirational goals. The network platform engages with a plurality of merchants associated with the aspirational goals to supply the goods or services and yield a comprehensive end-to-end solution. The saving social network system and method allows users to attain aspirations, including those that may otherwise have been out-of-reach.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/163,000 filed May 24, 2016, titled “User Controlled CollaborativeAspirational Savings Social Network System and Method having UserControlled Whiteboard System Enabling Articulation and End-To-EndFulfillment Of Aspirations” which published on Sep. 16, 2016 aspublication no. 2016-0267601, which publication is incorporated hereinby reference, and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. ______ on ______.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/163,000 is a continuation-in-part ofinternational patent application PCT/US14/67055 filed Nov. 24, 2014titled “User Controlled Collaborative Aspirational Savings SocialNetwork System and Method” which published May 28, 2015 as WO2015-007689, which publication is incorporated herein by reference.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/163,000 claims the benefit of U.S.Patent Application Ser. No. 62/166,361 titled “User ControlledWhiteboard System and Method Enabling Articulation and End-to-EndFulfillment of Aspirations” filed May 26, 2015, which application isincorporated herein by reference.

International patent application PCT/US14/67055 claims the benefit ofU.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/908,156 titled “Personalized andCollaborative Savings Platform” filed Nov. 24, 2013. Internationalpatent application PCT/US14/67055 claims the benefit of U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/908,157 titled “User Collaboration through aPlatform that Enables Elevated Savings, Elevated Experiences, ElevatedProductization/Design/Innovation” filed Nov. 24, 2013. Internationalpatent application PCT/US14/67055 claims the benefit of U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/002,991 titled “Whiteboard to EnableArticulation and End-to-End Fulfillment of Aspirations” filed May 26,2014. These applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention provides a social network based platform that renders apurpose to savings and to social networks and at a certain level acts toredefine the nature of money. Specifically, the invention relatesgenerally to user controlled aspirational savings and associated socialnetworks and methods for facilitating money management, and moreparticularly, to systems and methods facilitating alternative savingsarrangements focused on incentivizing user savings and tailoring savingsto user aspirations, wishes, or, goals. Additionally the inventiondescribed herein relates generally to a platform which enables users toidentify aspirations, wishes and goals which include aspects touching onand concerning money management, and more particularly, to alternativesavings arrangements focused on incentivizing user savings and tailoringsavings to user aspirations, wishes, or, goals, as well as linking usersof various types in such endeavors.

2. Background Information

There are a variety of savings vehicles available for users today. Forexample, users may choose a traditional savings account at a financialinstitution (such as a “bank”, although the phrase financial institutionas used in this application shall encompass broader category ofinstitutions such as: banks, credit unions, API providers, and yetothers such as BITCOIN, WALMART, GOOGLE that issue prepaid cards, etc,such as money and payment management institutions). In exchange fordeposits, the user receives interest paid on the savings account fromthe financial institution, e.g., in the form of money (currency) accruedon the principal amount. This form or arrangement incentivizes users tosave with the promise of a return on investment, e.g., a fixed amount ofmoney in the form of a percentage of the principal placed in savingsaccording to a schedule, e.g., annual.

Other conventional savings involve more risk, for example users may takeequity positions in a business, thereby exchanging money for stock. Thismay be viewed as a form of savings inasmuch as the user has spent moneyin exchange for an asset that may be converted, sold or otherwise form arealized gain. Here, the incentive for the user is again found in thehope that the thing purchased ultimately may be resold for more money,e.g., on a stock exchange.

All such savings examples focus on incentivizing the user to save byusing a currency or monetary return on investment. Thus, users oftenplace money into a savings account in exchange for either a guaranteedmonetary return (e.g., for savings accounts, money market accounts,certificates of deposit, bonds, etc.) or in exchange for an instrumentor item (e.g., stock, commodity, precious metal, house) that may bere-sold for monetary return.

It has been observed that “in years past financial institutions offeredsavings programs specifically designed for a specific purpose such as avacation. Periodically a customer would deposit funds in this accountuntil the savings goal was met. These types of savings programs wereparticularly helpful in teaching children the value of savings. Over theyears, these types of programs, in light of technical advances and otherfactors, were discontinued.” In response to this observation it hasnoted that now, “through advantages provided by the Internet, the charmand value of these purchase defined savings accounts can be recreatedwith added features and benefits that educate customers and children onthe value of saving for items they desire to purchase.”

U.S. published patent applications 2005-0222951 titled “Systems andMethods of Targeted Savings” discloses a method of targeting savingsdeposits that enable a depositor, such as a customer of a financialinstitution, to save money for various purposes or goals. A financialinstitution can make offers for targeting savings deposits to itscustomers using a financial statement that the financial institutionprepares and provides to its customers to report information related tocustomers' financial accounts. Such offers can be solicited orunsolicited and can include one or more targeted savings planscustomized to meet customers' savings goals. The financial statement canbe further used to enable customers to enroll in one or more targetedsavings plans and to make savings transactions according to such plans.A credit card account statement can be used for such purposes such thatcustomers can make targeted savings deposits along with making paymentsto credit card accounts. This methodology fails to provide a platformthat facilitates or enhances user discovery and articulation of a user'saspiration, nor which effectively allows users to attain aspirationsotherwise out of their reach, nor which efficiently supplies anend-to-end solution for users and does not fully maximize gains for theuser savings that can be achieved with such integration.

U.S. published patent applications 2007-0198382 and 2011-0137794 eachdisclose a method of saving for a time delayed purchase includesestablishing a savings account through a website provided by a thirdparty service provider. The savings account establishes the savingsgoal, the time frame, the recommended contribution, and the savingscategory and/or category of retailer(s). Once established, a customerdesignates the account as public or private. For a private account,funds are transferred from the customer's financial institution basedupon approved parameters. For a public account, a notification is sentto potential third party contributors who make a gift to the publicaccount that is held by the service provider. The customer is given theoption of accepting the gift, whereby funds are transferred from theservice provider to the public account. This methodology fails toprovide a platform that facilitates or enhances user discovery andarticulation of a user's aspiration, nor which effectively allows usersto attain aspirations otherwise out of their reach, nor whichefficiently supplies an end-to-end solution for users and does not fullymaximize gains for the user savings that can be achieved with suchintegration.

U.S. published patent application 2009-0063332 titled “FlexibleAutomatic Savings Program” discloses flexible automatic savings programsand/or processes in which a consumer is presented with multiple optionsfor automatic savings to be applied to transactions, such that savingsamounts are transferred from a first account to a second accountautomatically for qualified accounts and transactions. A financialinstitution can assist the consumer select one of the options to applyto automatic transfers. Transfer policy can thus be customized for aconsumer according to their savings needs and goals. Participation islimited to common, or overlapping, ownership status with respect to bothsource and target accounts, though other ownership entities can also bepresent. The way that savings amounts are determined for automatictransfers can also be dynamically customized to savings characteristicsor goals of the consumer as those characteristics or goals change. Thisuseful flexible savings account management aspect is helpful but failsto provide a platform that facilitates or enhances user discovery andarticulation of a user's aspiration, nor which effectively allows usersto attain aspirations otherwise out of their reach, nor whichefficiently supplies an end-to-end solution for users.

U.S. published patent application 2009-0187505 titled “Online SavingsNetwork” discloses the implementing of an online savings network whichincludes creating a network account for an owner and associating aninvestment account to the network account, wherein the account ownerthen invites family members, friends and/or contacts, via socialnetworks, to join the online savings sub-network as a contributor and tocontribute toward the owner's savings goal. This useful crowd-fundingaspect is helpful but fails to provide a platform that facilitates orenhances user discovery and articulation of a user's aspiration, norwhich effectively allows users to attain aspirations otherwise out oftheir reach, nor which efficiently supplies an end-to-end solution forusers.

U.S. published patent application 2010-0010886 titled “System and Methodfor Facilitating Charitable Giving” provides a donation facilitator thatserves as a centralized system for providing promotion, banking anddonation acceptance for non-profit organizations.

U.S. published patent application 2013-0097060 titled “Educational andGame-Based Banking Application whereby Youth Earn Real Money towardSpecific Savings, Spending and Charity Goals” discloses a youthorientated money management method that teaches financial literacy.According to this methodology, an account owner, such as a parent,grandparent, or legal guardian, makes money available to be earnedthrough the system. According to this methodology, an accountbeneficiary, such as a minor under the age of 18, earns money bycompleting a series of educational lessons and games (known in thesystem as “challenges”). Once earned, money is allocated by thebeneficiary to specific savings, spending, and charity goals (known as“funds”). The amount of money earned for a given challenge is dependentupon the goal (“fund”) to which it is allocated. Account owners can makeadditional moneys available (known as a “match”) for specific savingsand charity goals. Funds integrate on the back-end with traditionalfinancial products, such as checking, savings, and/or prepaid accounts.The system is proposed to be managed on mobile devices, e.g.smartphones. This methodology is helpful, particularly educating youthabout savings, but fails to provide a platform that facilitates orenhances user discovery and articulation of a user's aspiration, norwhich effectively allows users to attain aspirations otherwise out oftheir reach other than through the designated sponsor's benevolence, norwhich efficiently supplies an end-to-end solution for users includingthe actual delivery of the subject goal to the user from the merchant.

The system of U.S. published patent application 2013-0097060 isrepresentative of the prior art approaches in that it is focused onsavings and money management rather that focused on identification ofuser aspirations and attaining goals. Money management is not asinteresting to everyday users and consumers, however their aspirationsare, of course, are of great interest and attaining such aspirations canbe a primary interest to consumers. These prior art money managementsystems do not integrate the merchants as an integral part of the systemwhich prevents them from taking part in helping shape the goals, amplifythe user savings to facilitate the user goals, or ship the product ordeliver the service directly to the user upon realization of the user'saspirations.

U.S. published patent application 2013-0262237 titled “Method ofMarketing Based upon a Saving Goal” observes while “various savingsprograms are known in the art, utilizing information related to thesavings program to build a more effective relationship is difficult asoften the information is not available, or is stored in such a mannerthat the information is difficult to sort in order to provide meaningfulinformation to build a better relationship. Even if assembled, thereexists no relatively simple and efficient method to utilize theinformation in a manner that benefits both the consumer and thefinancial institution. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for amethod or system that addresses these deficiencies.” The applicationprovides “a method to market selected products to customers based upontheir savings goals” and “a method where information related to asavings goal is managed and used to build a personal relationship with aconsumer” and “a method of marketing based upon a savings goal wheremarketing messages are created related to savings goal criteria.” Thismethodology again fails to provide a platform that facilitates orenhances user discovery and articulation of a user's aspiration, norwhich effectively allows users to attain aspirations otherwise out oftheir reach, nor which efficiently supplies an end-to-end solution forusers, and further it does not maximize gains for the user savings thatcan be achieved with such end-to-end integration.

U.S. published patent application 2013-0297471 titled “Method ofGenerating Social Network Notification within a Goal Based FinancialAccount” observes that as “the Internet and social networking havebecome more prevalent, entities such as financial institutions arechallenged to develop a social network presence. While various socialnetworks and savings programs are known in the art, utilizing automatedand customized posts based on account activity to post messages tosocial networks is difficult as often the two networks do notcommunicate and the information of one is independent of another.” Thisdevelopment sets forth a “method [for] customers to customize andautomate posts and tweets to their social networks based on activity intheir goal based savings or DDA account, and “a method where activityrelated to a savings or DDA account is managed”, and allegedly “a methodof customization for the account owner and control over the automatedcommunication being posted based on their savings or DDA accountactivity.” This methodology, however, fails to provide a platform thatfacilitates or enhances user discovery and articulation of a user'saspiration, nor which effectively allows users to attain aspirationsotherwise out of their reach, nor which efficiently supplies anend-to-end solution for users and, again, is not actually directed tosuch a comprehensive integrated approach. Further this methodology doesnot effectively maximize gains for the user savings.

Other related background includes published patent application2013-0297470 titled “Method to Open and Manage Multiple Term DepositProducts, each Tied to an Individual Savings Objective, within oneAccount” which notes a “need to offer multiple term deposit productstied to individual savings objectives, within one account” and notes“individual savings objectives can be assigned to each of the individualterm deposit products.” Also published patent application 2013-0297450titled and related to “Method of Withdrawal of Funds from Bank Accountto Purchase Retail Gift Cards and/or Electronic Retail Gift CodesGenerating Cash Rewards to Consumer and/or Revenue to FinancialInstitution.” Published patent application 2006-0242041 titled “Methodand Financing System for Funding a Personal Account” wherein “funding apersonal savings account is accomplished by a donor selecting a personalaccount to be funded, the donor using a financial instrument whichgenerates an embedded fee or an awards or loyalty program, and directinga portion of the embedded fee or awards program into thedonor-designated account.” For general information, see published patentapplication 2006-0167780 titled “College Savings Plan Account Registryand Method”; published patent application 2013-0311326 titled “VirtualRegistry”, U.S. published patent application 2015/0017611 titled “Systemand Apparatus for Financial Education, Entrepreneurship Education andLife Management”. All of the above cited publications are incorporatedherein by reference and are helpful to establish the scope and contentof the prior art as well as the relevant level of skill in this art.

Despite various attempts to address limited aspects of the problems withthe current system for retail consumption, none of the proposed systemsor methods adequately addresses the current problem with retailconsumption. The problems are schematically illustrated, in part, inFIGS. 1A and B. FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of the drivingforce in the current state of marketing driven retail consumption,namely that retail consumption is driven by ads and marketing 13 that iscentered on exposing users to viewing ads goods and services 15(garnering eyeballs) leading to marketing/advertising driven buying 17and wherein the history of such compulsive buying is used by marketingto continue the marketing/advertising driven consumption cycle without areal reflection on the actual aspirations, wants and desires ofconsumers. This is evidenced by one well known sobering characterizationthat “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes; working jobs we hate,so we can buy s*** we don't need,” (Explicative removed—Chuck Palahniuk,Fight Club). The current marketing driven consumption model is adistraction from savings for actual aspirations or wishes of users andis further evidenced by the current record low savings levels and thefact that consumers up to 30% of income of items they don't recallbuying.

FIG. 1B is a schematic representation of the current chasm 99 betweenuser savings or financial institutions 132 and retail establishments ormerchants 142 that is present in the current marketing driven, rearwardlooking system. The chasm or barrier 99 exists because the user savingsand the associated financial institutions 132 associated therewith arenot primary stake holders in and thus have no integral role in thecurrent system as shown in FIG. 1A. The continued separation of usersavings and merchants and the lack of the system being user driven is ahindrance to aspirational savings and forward looking consumerpurchasing.

As noted above, the prior art approaches are focused on savings andmoney management rather that focused on identification of useraspirations, attaining goals and delivery of the goods or services thatfulfill the aspirations.

None of the existing systems and methods describes a comprehensivee-commerce solution which facilitates the identification of the useraspirations and whereby upon achievement of a user defined goal oraspiration the merchant delivers the aspirational goal directly to theuser without the need for intervening steps (having the user withdrawalthe funds and order the goods).

None of the existing systems and methods describes a comprehensivee-commerce solution which facilitates curation by a user's well-wishingcommunity (e.g., friends, family, advisors) in developing and modifyingthe wish, goal and aspirations of the user and the developing andmodifying plan associated therewith (modification can includecancelation of the goal under certain circumstances).

None of the existing systems and methods describes a comprehensivee-commerce solution which facilitates white-boarding co-creation andpersonalization of user's goals or aspirations through collaborationbetween user and merchants.

None of the existing systems and methods describes a comprehensivee-commerce solution which is not limited merely to financialapplications or savings wherein the platform can be utilized for thingsoutside of money (things money cannot buy—i.e. lunch with a givenathlete—social equity, content equity and endorsement equity).

None of the existing systems and methods describes a comprehensivee-commerce solution which provides a comprehensive e-commerce solutionthat allows for value exchange and value creation.

None of the existing systems and methods describes a comprehensivee-commerce solution which facilitate credit and or insuranceunderwriting

It is an object of the present invention to address the deficiencies ofthe prior art discussed above and to do so in an efficient, costeffective manner to provide a user controlled collaborative aspirationalsavings social network system and method which enables users to identifyaspirations, wishes and goals which include aspects touching on andconcerning money management, and more particularly, to alternativesavings arrangements focused on incentivizing user savings and tailoringsavings to user aspirations, wishes, or, goals, as well as linking usersof various types in such endeavors. Other advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from a perusal of the following detaileddescription of presently preferred embodiments of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The various embodiments and examples of the present invention aspresented herein are understood to be illustrative of the presentinvention and not restrictive thereof and are non-limiting with respectto the scope of the invention. The present invention is directed to aninternet based user controlled aspirational savings social networksystem comprising: a host electronic network platform configured to hostindividual accounts for a plurality of individual platform users,wherein each individual account is assigned an aspirational goal ofconsumer goods and/or services by the account user, and wherein the hostelectronic network platform develops, modifies and monitors a savingsplan associated with each individual account; an aspirational goalauthoring tool on the host electronic network platform accessible by theindividual platform users and including at least one category ofprospective aspirational goods and services and configured to i) assistindividual platform users in discovery and articulation of specificaspirational savings goals to be assigned to each individual account ofthe user, and ii) assign at least an initial monetary goal amountassociated with the individual account based upon the specificaspirational savings goal assigned to the account; a financialinstitution interface on the host network platform configured to engagewith at least one financial institution and to establish each individualaccount as a depository account with one associated financialinstitution; a collaborative savings amplifications tool interactingwith the host electronic network platform and configured to increase theeffective monetary amounts in an individual account to advance thesavings plan to the aspirational savings goal above the principalcontributions of the user, wherein the collaborative savingsamplification tool includes at least one of i) social network basedcrowdfunding of a specific aspirational goal assigned to one of anindividual user's accounts by a user designated well-wishing community,wherein crowdfunding includes both potential monetary amounts andnon-monetary contributions which can advise, guide, motivate, modify andfulfill a user aspiration; ii) gamification of individual accounts,wherein the gamification and their associated rewards may be sponsoredor provided by any combination of the merchants, financial institutions,members of the users designated well-wishing community, or the hostelectronic network platform itself; iii) group purchasing discountsattributable to an individual user's accounts wherein a group for grouppurchasing is formed by a collection of individual platform user'shaving aligned aspirational goals; iv) reverse auction from merchant; v)maximization of the interest for the individual; vi) contentco-creation; and vii) a budgeting tool; and a merchant interface on thehost network platform configured to engage with a plurality ofretailers, distributors, and/or manufacturers of consumer goods andservices associated with each aspirational goal of each individualaccount.

Within the meaning of this application the users of the system of theinvention may be individual consumers or may be businesses or may beorganizations (e.g., a local Kiwanis Club). Additionally it isanticipated that the host of the system may, in some circumstances,serve as the associated financial institution or an associated merchantor both. The integration of the merchant or financial institution, orboth, within the host of the system of the invention will not change thegeneral operation described below.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “aspirational goal”means a particular product or service from a merchant to be assigned toan individual saving account. The particular product or service may bevaried by the user. Aspirational goals within this application may beinterchangeably referenced as user wishes, user goals, user aspirations,aspirational savings goals, and various combinations of these terms.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “a savings plan” meansthe generation of a timeline with identifiable quantified steps in whicha user can attain the monetary goal amount in an individual accountassociated with an aspirational goal.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “initial monetary goalamount” means an initial value that the system places upon the assignedaspirational goal for initially developing the savings plan. The actualmonetary goal amount for any aspirational goal can vary over time.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “collaborative savingsamplifications tool” means those aspects of the system and methodologyof the invention which are configured to increase the effective monetaryamounts in an individual account to advance the savings plan to theaspirational goal above the principal contributions of the user.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “effective monetaryamounts” means both positive monetary amounts (i.e., money added to anindividual account, such as from the user, from friends, fromgamification, etc.) and decreases in the monetary goal, such as throughgroup buying discounts, merchant discounts, changes to the aspirationalgoal of the user.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “principalcontributions of the user” means monetary amounts contributed to theaccount directly from the user.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “interest earned onthe principal contributions of the user” means interest that thefinancial institution credits to the individual account based upon theprincipal contributions of the user.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “social network basedcrowdfunding of a specific aspirational goal” means broadcasting, ormore precisely narrowcasting, the user's specific aspirational goal ofan individual account to user selected members of a social network andeither i) allowing the members to contribute monetary amounts to theindividual account to assist in achieving the savings goal, ii) allowingthe members to give feedback to the user that can assist in modifyingthe aspirational goal, or iii) both i) and ii).

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “gamification ofindividual accounts” means monetary contributions to an individualaccount or a plurality of accounts based upon promotional events, suchas sweepstakes or rewards upon fulfillment of certain savingsrequirements, from the merchants or financial institution of the user,or host system, or monetary contributions of users or groups there-ofthrough contests, challenges and the like.

The phrase well-wishing community within the meaning of this applicationis the set of other users, social network friends and family, and thirdparty advisors (e.g., financial planner from a financial institution orsubject matter expert from merchant).

Within the meaning of this application the term “curation” meansgathering, organizing and refining of content related to a particulartheme or topic. Namely curation is used herein associated with thedevelopment of the user's aspirations and of the plan to attain theaspiration.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “group purchasingdiscounts” means merchant discounts in the products or services of thespecific aspirational goals associated with a group of users withaligned aspirational goals. The group purchasing discounts may be drivenfrom the user's who form groups of users which obtain discounts from themerchants, or from the merchants who identify groups of users and offerdiscounts thereto.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “a group” for “grouppurchasing” is referencing a collection of users of the system that aregrouped with aligned aspirational goals.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “aligned aspirationalgoals” means similar specific aspirational goals that can be associatedwith a single merchant sufficient for obtaining group purchasingdiscounts from the merchant. It is important to note that the specificaspirational goals need not be identical, for example a merchant maygroup a collection of various types of high end jewelry from varioususers' specific aspirational goals together as a group of alignedaspirational goals (rather than only grouping diamond rings together).

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “reverse auction”means an offer from the merchant to the user for a product or serviceassociated with an aspirational goal. It is known as a reverse auctionbecause the conventional roles of sellers and buyers are reversed inthis context and sellers compete to obtain business from the buyer and,further, prices for the specific goods or services will typicallydecrease as the sellers undercut each other.

Within the meaning of this application the term “merchant” means aretailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, distributor, vendor or other sourceof consumer or business goods and services. The terms vendor,wholesaler, manufacturer, distributor, producer and the like may all beused interchangeably with the term merchant.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “maximization of theinterest for the individual” means consideration of the offerings of oneor more financial institutions and optimizing the interest available toan individual user, which may include collecting or combining multipleuser funds into a combined account (e.g., a “sweep account”) to increasethe yield for an individual.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “user interactivesocial trade-off analysis” means interacting with the user to allow forbalance of user requirements and the time in an associated savings planfor appropriate goods and services that satisfy the given userrequirements in the user's discovery and articulation of an aspirationalgoal.

Within the meaning of this application the phrase “content co-creation”means user customization of merchant products and/or user feedback tomerchants in a manner promoting merchant product modification at a macroor individual level. Content co-creation in the present invention is asignificant aspect which allows for consumer to business interaction andfor customization of existing merchandize and for feedback to merchants,each of which is critically valuable to merchants, which in turn can andwill reward customers and thus amplify user savings. The user createdmerchandize customization will drive newer versions of products and orproduct offerings. Merchants will use information to modify, change oradjust products at the macro level or at the individual user level asappropriate.

One embodiment of the invention provides an internet based usercontrolled aspirational savings social network system comprising a hostelectronic network platform configured to host individual accounts for aplurality of individual users, wherein each individual account isassigned an aspirational goal of goods and/or services by the accountuser, and wherein the host electronic network platform develops,modifies and monitors a savings plan associated with each individualaccount; an aspirational goal authoring tool on the network platformconfigured to assist individual platform users in discovery andarticulation of specific aspirational goals to be assigned to eachindividual account of the user, and to assign at least an initialmonetary goal amount associated with the individual account based uponthe specific aspirational goal assigned to the account; a financialinstitution interface on the network platform configured to engage withat least one financial institution and to associate each individualaccount with one associated depository account with one associatedfinancial institution; a collaborative savings amplifications toolinteracting with the host electronic network platform and configured toincrease the effective monetary amounts in an individual account toadvance the savings plan to the aspirational goal above the principalcontributions of the user, wherein the collaborative savingsamplification tool includes at least a social network based crowdfundingof a specific aspirational goal assigned to one of an individual user'saccounts by a user designated well-wishing community; and grouppurchasing discounts attributable to an individual user's accountswherein a group for group purchasing is formed by a collection ofindividual platform user's having aligned aspirational goals; and amerchant interface on the host network platform configured to engagewith a plurality of merchants of consumer goods and services associatedwith each aspirational goal of each individual account.

The internet based user controlled aspirational savings system accordingto the invention provides that the host network platform may beconfigured to co-ordinate the delivery of the goods and serviceassociated with the aspirational goal of an individual account to theuser from the merchant when the savings plan associated with thatindividual account has been achieved. Further, the host network platformmay be configured to co-ordinate the transfer of monetary amount from anindividual account to the merchant for the goods and service associatedwith the aspirational goal the when the savings plan associated withthat individual account has been achieved.

The internet based user controlled aspirational savings system accordingto the invention provides that the host electronic network platformwhich monitors a savings plan associated with each individual accountmay provide visual indication of the amount of progress of the savingsplan. Further the host electronic network platform which develops asavings plan associated with each individual account may provide a userinteractive social trade-off analysis between different goods andservice to be associated with the aspirational goal. Further, the hostelectronic network platform which develops a savings plan associatedwith each individual account may include developing a savings timelinefor the savings plan.

The internet based user controlled aspirational savings system accordingto the invention provides wherein the financial institution interface onthe host network platform may review a plurality of depository accounttypes offered by at least one, or more, financial institution in theestablishment of each individual account as a depository account withone associated financial institution.

The internet based user controlled aspirational savings system accordingto the invention, wherein the collaborative savings amplifications toolincludes social network based crowdfunding of a specific aspirationalgoal assigned to one of an individual user's accounts, the user mayidentify a set of social network users associated with an individualuser's account. Further the system may receive and assign monetaryamounts to an individual's user account from any of the social networkusers associated with an individual user's account, and whereinindividual platform users can receive feedback within the system fromany of the social network users associated with an individual user'saccount.

The internet based user controlled aspirational savings system accordingto the invention, wherein the collaborative savings amplifications toolincludes group purchasing discounts attributable to an individual user'saccounts, provides that a group, for group purchasing, is formed by acollection of individual platform user's having aligned aspirationalgoals. Further, the groups, for group purchasing, may include groupscreated by the individual platform users, and the groups, for grouppurchasing, and may include groups created by the merchants.

The internet based user controlled aspirational savings system accordingto the invention, wherein the collaborative savings amplifications toolincludes gamification of individual accounts, may include gamificationby at least one of the financial institutions and the merchants, orgamification from the users (e.g., through user sponsored games,contests or challenges).

The present invention also provides a method of implementing usercontrolled aspirational savings for specific consumer goods and/orservices comprising the steps of: Providing a host electronic networkplatform configured to host individual accounts for a plurality ofindividual platform users; Identifying a specific aspirational goal tobe assigned to each individual account of the user with an aspirationalgoal authoring tool on the host electronic network platform accessibleby the individual platform users; Assigning an aspirational goal ofspecific consumer goods and/or services including an initial monetarygoal amount by the account user to each individual user's account;Developing, Monitoring and Modifying a savings plan associated with eachindividual account by the host electronic network platform; Establishingeach individual account as a depository account with an associatedfinancial institution through the host electronic network platform; andamplifying the effective monetary amounts in an individual account toadvance the savings plan to the aspirational goal above the principalcontributions of the user, wherein the amplifying includes at least oneof i) social network based crowdfunding of a specific aspirational goalassigned to one of an individual user's accounts; ii) gamification ofindividual accounts; iii) group purchasing discounts attributable to anindividual user's accounts wherein a group for group purchasing isformed by a collection of individual platform user's having alignedaspirational goals; iv) reverse auction from merchants; v) maximizationof the interest for the individual and iv) content co-creation.

The method of implementing user controlled aspirational savings forspecific consumer goods and/or services according to the invention mayfurther include the steps of coordinating the delivery of the goods andservice associated with the aspirational goal of an individual accountto the user from the merchant when the savings plan associated with thatindividual account has been achieved; and coordinating the transfer ofmonetary amount from an individual account to the merchant for the goodsand service associated with the aspirational goal the when the savingsplan associated with that individual account has been achieved.

One embodiment of the invention provides a whiteboard platform, e.g.,implemented in an electronic device as an automated or semi-automatedtool, which assists users in identifying wishes, goals and aspirations.The whiteboard platform may facilitate identification of wishes, goalsand aspirations via an interactive assessment tool that guides a userthrough a process of identifying his or her wishes, goals andaspirations. An embodiment allows a plan or plans to be developedregarding these wishes, goals or aspirations, e.g., such that a user isnot only enabled to identify wishes, goals and aspirations, but are alsoassisted in achieving the same with provisioning of a personalizedsavings plan or plans. This may include presentation of questions oractivities that are generally designed to elicit responses from a userin order to refine broader categories of possible wishes, goals andaspirations. This may include a process of automatically importinginformation regarding a user or a particular group of users to which theuser in question belongs. This imported information may be gatheredautomatically, semi-automatically or manually and may includeinformation derived directly from the user, indirectly from a user(e.g., via accessing various data bases with which the user has providedinformation, such as a transaction history stored in a data base),and/or from other users with which the user has some linkage orassociation.

The whiteboard also permits users to publicize their wishes, goals andaspirations, e.g., using social media connections, friends, contacts,etc. In one aspect of the invention, the whiteboard components mayfacilitate publicizing or sharing of a user's wishes, goals andaspirations, e.g., via suggesting other users to whom the user inquestion may publicize the information.

In one embodiment, the whiteboard intelligently identifies users sharingcommon attributes in order to facilitate interaction there-between,e.g., with goal of building mutually beneficial relationships betweenusers. This may be implemented via the whiteboard automaticallyleveraging artificial intelligence systems to facilitate suchinteractions. Such interaction and facilitation of the same may takeplace on several different levels with several different aims. Forexample, an embodiment may allow users sharing similar wishes, goals andaspirations to contact one another and interact using the whiteboard. Inanother example, different types of users may be encouraged to interactwith one another. For example, a user having a particular wish, goal oraspiration may be linked to a user having some domain expertise in thearea of that wish, goal or aspiration. In at least one embodiment, thewhiteboard itself may act as a virtualized user having domain expertisein an area, e.g., financial counseling, life coaching, etc. In anotherembodiment, the whiteboard may automate the initial contact or linkagebetween actual; human domain experts and/or other users and a user thathas expressed a wish, goal or aspiration.

The whiteboard may be utilized to facilitate commercial activities aswell, e.g., aligned with users' expressed wishes, goals and aspirations.For example, the whiteboard may collect, filter and present variousmetrics that are of interest to various users, e.g., different types ofusers within the whiteboard system. By way of example, the whiteboardmay facilitate dissemination of information, either detailed orgeneralized (with privacy of users in mind), to various users. Forexample, individual or personal users may be given information regardingother users within the whiteboard that have similar wishes, goals oraspirations such that interaction and collaboration there between may befacilitated. As another example, users of different types may be giveninformation about one another's presence within the whiteboard. By wayof specific example, commercial or corporate users or subscribers may begiven information regarding a number of users having a particular wish,goal or aspiration such that the commercial or corporate users areapprised of the same. Likewise, in a complementary way, individual usersor groups thereof may be given information regarding commercial orcorporate users within the whiteboard system, e.g., those offering goodsor services that match some or part of a particular user's plan forachieving a wish, goal or aspiration.

The whiteboard may be utilized in exchange for various items. Forexample, the operator of the whiteboard or portion thereof may notcharge a fee for use, e.g., for individual users or groups thereof. Inan embodiment, the operator of the whiteboard or portion thereof maycharge a fee for use, e.g., for corporate or commercial users to haveaccess to information regarding individual users or for having directaccess or linkage thereto. In an embodiment, the whiteboard may includecommercial mechanisms, e.g., such as facilitating online shopping forgoods and services offered among the users of the whiteboard and paymentfor the same. Additionally, the whiteboard may operate to collect feesfrom various users, e.g., transaction fees, etc.

The system of the present invention provides a comprehensive e-commercesolution for user defined aspirational savings that allows for deliveryof goods or services directly to the user from the merchant.

The system of the present invention provides a comprehensive e-commercesolution allows for the curation by the well-wishing community (friends,family, advisors, etc.) in developing and modifying the wish, goal andaspiration and the developing and modifying plan associated therewith(modification can include cancelation of the goal).

The system of the present invention provides a comprehensive e-commercesolution allows for white-boarding co-creation and personalization ofgoal or aspiration through collaboration between user and merchants andprovides an e-commerce solution which is not limited merely to financialapplications or savings. The platform can be utilized for things outsideof money (things money cannot buy—i.e. lunch with a given athlete—socialequity, content equity and endorsement equity).

The platform of the invention yields an e-commerce solution that allowsfor value exchange and value creation; allows for an effective andefficient (less waste) in gift giving and gift receiving by facilitatingsignals from the user to the well-wishing community, and extensionsthereof, regarding what are the user's aspirations for targeted gifting.

The present system is not just limited to money management but equally,if not more importantly, is focused on goal identification, trackingprogress toward and attainment of that goal, and delivery of the goodsor services associated with attainment of that goal in ways that reduce,if not eliminate, the focus on money. The system provides users thetools to shift the focus away from money management and savings whichoften lead to user's inertia (failure to act). Instead the presentsystem provides users to tools for sharper focus toward the curateddiscovery of the goal, tracking progress toward of the goal andfulfillment and delivery of the goal.

In the implementation of the platform of the present invention thefinancial services become an embedded design, namely they are largelybehind the scenes and/or hidden from the user such that their complexitydoes not result in user inertia or failure to act. With the “money tothe background” aspect of the present system, the present inventionmaintains a focus on the establishing the user goals, attaining goalsand obtaining goods or services associated with the attained goals,rather than focusing on merely money management as do the prior artmoney management systems.

In the implementation of the platform of the present invention theintegration of the merchants, in combination with friends, familyadvisors and financial institutions, into all phases of the systemcreate networking effects between all the parties at every stage of theprocess allowing each party to effectively work in the best interest ofthe user either individually or collaboratively in the identificationof, progress towards and fulfillment of the goal.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be clarified inthe description of the preferred embodiments taken together with theattached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of the driving force in thecurrent state of retail consumption;

FIG. 1B is a schematic representation of the current chasm between usersavings and retail establishments;

FIGS. 1C and D are schematic representations of an internet based usercontrolled aspirational savings social network system according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-C are schematic representations of screen shots of anaspiration savings goal authoring tool of the internet based usercontrolled aspirational savings social network system of FIGS. 1C-D;

FIGS. 3A-F are schematic representations of screen shots of analternative aspiration savings goal authoring tool of the internet baseduser controlled aspirational savings social network system of FIGS.1C-D;

FIG. 4A-B illustrates an example method of incentivizing savings using asavings platform and facilitating collaboration between users with theinternet based user controlled aspirational savings social networksystem of FIGS. 1C-D;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method of using communicationsfunctionality of a platform to allow various users to collaborate withthe internet based user controlled aspirational savings social networksystem of FIGS. 1C-D;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method of facilitating collaborationbetween various users and reporting thereof via a platform with theinternet based user controlled aspirational savings social networksystem of FIGS. 1C-D;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method of identifying like users andfacilitating communication there-between using a platform with theinternet based user controlled aspirational savings social networksystem of FIGS. 1C-D;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of savings amplification for arepresentative user aspiration using the internet based user controlledaspirational savings social network system according FIGS. 1C-D;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a friendship or relationshipscoring system for the internet based user controlled aspirationalsavings social network system according FIGS. 1C-D; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of content co-creation throughcollaboration of the users and the merchants.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations inaddition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following moredetailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in thefigures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, asclaimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments. The system100 described herein provides a user 114 controlled aspirational savingsand associated social network platform 110 and methods for facilitatingmoney management, and more particularly, to systems and methodsfacilitating alternative savings arrangements focused on incentivizinguser 114 savings and tailoring savings to user aspirations, wishes, or,goals 116.

The system 100 provides a personalized and collaborative savingsplatform 110 yielding a comprehensive end to end forward lookingsolution. The social network platform 110 promotes user 114collaboration that facilitates exploration, articulation andidentification of aspirations and facilitates savings (via dedicatedaccounts 112) and end to end fulfillment of user aspirations 116. Thesystem 100 is a forward looking marketplace as consumers are workingtoward aspirations 116 rather than driven by marketer's promotions andmerchants 142 can also look toward current aspirations 116 of users 114rather than only to historical sales.

Accounts 112 of users 114 are sometimes referenced herein as savingsaccounts 112, however they should not be considered to be limited to abank “savings account” as one limited type of financial savingsinstrument. As noted herein the term “savings” is a broader term thanthe restrictive definition of the excess of a user's income overexpenses, and similarly the phrase “savings accounts 112” isrepresentative of any wide number of savings vehicles, includingconventional bank savings accounts, or checking accounts, or moneymarket accounts, certificates of deposit, or pre-paid savings cards, tolist a few representative examples. The system 100 will have theflexibility to select the best type of account available to the user 114for a given account 112 from any of the available financial institutions132.

As opposed to conventional market driven solutions, the system 100 ofthe invention as described herein is designed to make the demand chainmore efficient. The system 100 as described below can repurpose socialmedia (social networks 151) and results in additional efficiencies inthe marketplace via an aspirational consumption base (as opposed to theprior art marketing consumption base of FIG. 1A). As a demand driven(user controlled aspiration or goal 116 driven) construct the presentsystem 100 can efficiently bridge where a user's money resides with itspurpose, eliminating the chasm 99 in the existing marketplaceschematically shown in FIG. 1B.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiments. Furthermore, the described features, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details areprovided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled inthe relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodimentscan be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or withother methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances,well known structures, materials, or operations are not shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obfuscation.

As described in greater detail below the present invention is directedto an internet based user controlled aspirational savings social networksystem 100 comprising: a host electronic network platform 110, which maybe on one or more servers 113, and which is configured to hostindividual accounts 112 for a plurality of individual platform users114, wherein each individual account 112 is assigned an aspirationalgoal 116 of consumer goods and/or services by the account user 114, andwherein the host electronic network platform 110 develops, modifies andmonitors a savings plan 118 associated with each individual account 112;an aspirational goal authoring tool 120 on the host electronic networkplatform 110 accessible by the individual platform users 114 andincluding at least categories 122 of prospective aspirational goods andservices which form prospective aspirational goals and configured to i)assist individual platform users 114 in discovery and articulation of anspecific aspirational goal 116 to be assigned to each individual account112 of the user 114, and ii) assign at least an initial monetary goalamount associated with the individual account 112 based upon thespecific aspirational goal 116 assigned to the account 112; a financialinstitution interface 130 on the host network platform 110 configured toengage with at least one financial institution 132 and to establish eachindividual account 112 as a depository account with one associatedfinancial institution 132; a collaborative savings amplifications tool150 interacting with the host electronic network platform 110 andconfigured to increase the effective monetary amounts in an individualaccount 112 to advance the savings plan 118 to the aspirational goal 116above the principal contributions of the user 114, wherein thecollaborative savings amplification tool 150 at least one of i) socialnetwork based crowdfunding of a specific aspirational goal assigned toone of an individual user's accounts by a user designated well-wishingcommunity, wherein crowdfunding includes both potential monetary amountsand non-monetary contributions which can advise, guide, motivate, modifyand fulfill a user aspiration; ii) gamification of individual accounts;ii) gamification of individual accounts; iii) group purchasing discountsattributable to an individual user's accounts wherein a group for grouppurchasing is formed by a collection of individual platform users 114having aligned aspirational goals; and iv) reverse auction from merchant142; v) maximization of the interest for the individual user 114 vi)content co-creation; and a merchant interface 140 on the host networkplatform 110 configured to engage with a plurality of retailers,distributors, and/or manufacturers of consumer goods and services,collectively merchants 142, associated with each aspirational goal 116of each individual account 112; and a user budgeting tool.

As opposed to conventional savings mechanisms, which tend to incentivizeusers to save in exchange for guaranteed or risk-based monetary returns,the invention focuses the incentive on why a user 114 saves.Conventional savings products and methods tend to focus on generalizedreturns, e.g., money, increased value in stock or property, such thatthere is no real tie-in to the wishes or aspirations of a particularsaving user 114.

The present invention incentivizes users 114 to save by associating auser's savings within an individual account 112 with a “greater” purposeor reason to save, specifically the aspirational goal 116 assigned tothe account 112. This association more closely ties the offeringsavailable to the personality and aspirations of the user 112.Furthermore, there is a focus on short or mid-term wishes and allowing auser 114 to update or modify the savings plan 118 as the user'saspirations change. Additionally, the system 100 allows the user'swishes to be matched with savings opportunities that are connected tothird party merchants 142, not merely products offered by a particularfinancial intuition 132 or group of related companies. The platform 110permits various parties (the users 114, financial institutions 132,merchants 142, and social network users 152) to collaborate via aninteractive framework provided by the platform 110. An embodimenttherefore implements a savings social network platform 110 that varioususers (including business users) may access and interact with in orderto facilitate savings and business interests.

The invention is described in connection with users 114 formed ofindividual persons; however the invention is not so limited. The users114 may be individual persons, but may also be business entities orsocial groups (e.g., school field hockey booster organization; RotaryClub, etc). The system 100 of the present invention directly tiesproducts/services to user's savings as well to the user's aspirations.Therefore, the system 100 of the invention ties together user's savings(current and in the future) with the Internet of Things, including theecosystem of products, services, and experiences available or cataloguedonline as well as those that are offline and the merchants orservice-providers that provide, produce, or manufacture them. In otherwords, the present system 100 creates an “Internet of Savings” tying theusers' savings (accounts 112)—and at a macro-level the “SavingsEcosystem” comprising of a plurality of users 114 who are all“saving”—with the “Provider Ecosystem” of products, services, andexperiences and the merchants 142 (merchants or service-providers) thatprovide, produce, or manufacture them. Thus, at a macro-level, thesystem 100 creates a pool of savings that can be linked to merchants142, merchants and service providers offering goods/services. Moreover,saving users 114 are provided with the ability to leverage this pool ofsavings to take advantage of scale for group purchasing of goods andservices at substantial savings.

At a micro-level, a saving user 114 using the system 100 is able to takeadvantage of lowered prices, actual savings tied to particularproducts/services that match to their aspirations 116, and therefore mayobtain items (goods/services) that they can both afford and which theyactually want. As to a merchant 142 using the system 100, such entitieswill be better able to tailor their product/service offering to users'aspirations, and purchasing capabilities in terms of actual savings.Savings, as further elaborated on herein, is more than the simpledifference between a users 114 disposable income less consumption.Rather, savings is more inclusive and reflects a broader definitionincluding but not limited to (1) holdings directed towards merchandiseas part of periodic/day-to-day consumption, and (2) holdings in additionto “disposable income” (e.g., inherited wealth, lottery winnings, etc.).

The system 100 facilitates creation of an “Internet-of-Savings”, i.e.,connecting the ecosystem of “savings” to the ecosystem ofproducts/services/experiences of value from merchants 142, i.e.,connecting savings to aspirations resulting in greater purpose. In sodoing, the system 100 inspires and influences elevated savings. Thesystem 100 reduces the complexity and information overload in thesavings process (e.g., visual/product-design constructs are providedthat shows progress towards fulfillment of aspirations in the system 100rather than overwhelming a consumer/business saving user with the jargonof interest rates, APYs, etc., that often have no emotional resonance orpurpose associated with them). The system 100 provides trusted guidanceand deployment of back-end data/analytics/algorithms to provide asavings plan 118 (e.g., principal and timeline needed to achieve savingsaspiration goal 116 that is within the user's means). This may includeproviding advising and counseling, e.g., if an aspirational goal 116 isotherwise not practical.

The system 100 facilitates users 114 collaborating to attainaspirational goals 116 including those that would otherwise hithertohave not have been possible without: a) collaboration/support (e.g., byengaging other designated users/friends/family/financialcounselors/product and service and experience subject-matter experts);b) benefiting from the scale and the efficiency that the two connectedecosystems (i.e., savings and products/services/experiences) creates todeliver the highest value at the lowest cost. The system 100 thereforestimulates greater and more thoughtful consumption by tying together ina social network on platform 110 various users, experience advisors, andecosystems. The system 100 provides feedback loops and mechanisms withinthe platform 110 among the various collaborators. With feedback loops,e.g., fixing errors or defects with products, adding to productfeatures/functionality based on user feedback that results in eitherincremental, or, breakthrough product/design/innovation, and both micro-and macro-signals between saver/user and provider/producer/manufacturerof products/goods/services. The system 100 results in elevatedexperience, elevated efficiency (e.g., pricing of theproduct/service/experience and/or improvement of itsinventory/supply-chain management capabilities) and elevatedproductization/design/innovation. Various components of system 100 andassociated method for savings functionality as described herein may beexecuted on one or more computer systems, which may interact withvarious other devices, e.g., a server communicating with system 100.

The system 100 is described as being an internet based system and thecommunication between the parties through conventional methods.Additionally the individual systems can vary, for example the users 114may access the platform 110 on the internet via their own device whichmay be a laptop computer, desk top computer, PDA, notebook computer,netbook computer, tablet computer, smart phone, or other similar device.Additionally the users 114 may access the platform 110 directly(directly to a website of the system 100). Alternatively the access tothe platform 110 may be through a financial institution 132 and thefinancial institution 132 either re-directs the user 114 to the platform110 (schematically shown in dotted line in FIG. 1C) or the system 100may be internal to the financial institution 132. Similarly, the users114 may access platform 110 through a merchant 142 (e.g., the website ofa big-box store) and the merchant 142 either re-directs the user 114 tothe platform 110 (schematically shown in dotted line in FIG. 1C) or thesystem 100 may be internal to the merchant 142. Also the users 114 mayaccess platform 110 through an existing social network (e.g., FACEBOOK®)151 and the social network directs the user 114 to the platform 110.

Access to the platform 110 may require a downloadable application (app)and may further include appropriate security protocols as generallyknown in the art. It is contemplated that the various functionalitydescribed herein be implemented using a single instance of a computer(e.g. at the host), while in other functional aspects of the system 100will utilize multiple nodes making up the system 100. Thus, as will beappreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects of the system 100may be embodied as a system, or device program product and combinationsthereof. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment or an embodiment including software that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit”, “module” or “system.” Furthermore,aspects may take the form of a device program product embodied in one ormore device readable medium(s) having device readable program codeembodied therewith. Any combination of one or more non-signal devicereadable medium(s) may be utilized. The non-signal medium may be astorage medium. A storage medium may be, for example, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples of a storage medium would include the following: aportable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of thisdocument, a storage medium is not a signal and “non-transitory” includesall media except signal media. Program code embodied on a storage mediummay be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but notlimited to wireless, wired, optical fiber cable, RF, et cetera, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. Program code for carrying outoperations may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on a single device,partly on a single device, as a stand-alone software package, partly onsingle device and partly on another device, or entirely on the otherdevice. In some cases, the devices may be connected through any type ofconnection or network, including a local area network (LAN) or a widearea network (WAN), or the connection may be made through other devices(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider),through wireless connections, e.g., near-field communication, or througha hard wire connection, such as over a USB connection.

Determining why Users Save

The aspirational goal authoring tool 120 (or module or more generallythe user interface) of the system 100 may assist the user 114 indetermining a particular aspirational goal 116 for an for a particularuser 114 in a variety of ways, e.g., using existing data associated withthe user 114 and conventional data-mining and decision making algorithmsto automatically infer and suggest particular aspirational goal 116 ofthe user 114 or via more explicit mechanisms, e.g., facilitating user114 selection of a particular aspirational goal 116 from a collection ofgeneral aspirational goal 116 general categories 122 thereof. See FIGS.2A-C and 3A-F for two schematic examples of an operational interactiveaspirational goal authoring tool 120. Additional aspects ofwhite-boarding are further elaborated below.

Once a savings wish or aspiration is identified, the system 100 mayemploy one or a variety of mechanisms by which a user's saving habitsare incentivized using the aspiration (also referenced as a wish)identified. Thus, the system 100 converts a return on savings from ageneric, unfocused monetary format, e.g., accrued interest on a savingsaccount, to a more wish focused or user-specific return that ispersonalized to the user 112 and his or her aspiration 116, e.g., aproduct or service that is associated with a particular user's wants,needs, etc.

As noted above, FIGS. 2A-C are schematic representations of screen shotsof an aspiration savings goal authoring tool 120 of the internet baseduser controlled aspirational savings social network system 100 of FIGS.1C-D and the figures show a representative aspirational goal 116 (andengagement ring) for a user 114. As shown herein, the aspirational goalauthoring tool 120 on the host electronic network platform 110 isaccessible by the individual platform users 114 and generally willinclude at least one category of prospective aspirational goods andservices 122 (Personal/Marital; Professional/Career) to assist the user114. As shown in FIG. 2A the user's prior (including ongoing) projectsmay assist the user in defining a new aspiration and collaborativegroups can also be a recourse for the user to shape and define anaspiration as well as assist in attaining the aspiration, such asthrough group purchasing.

As shown in FIG. 2B the tool 120 and categories 122 can help the user to“white board” their aspirations 116, and such visualization ofaspirations is helpful to define a user's actual aspirations 116. Thetool 120 is configured to assist individual platform users 114 indiscovery and articulation of specific aspirational goals 116 to beassigned to each individual account 112 of the user 114, and assign atleast an initial monetary goal amount associated with the individualaccount 112 based upon the specific aspirational goal 116 assigned tothe account 112. Specifically after the user 114 identifies the generalaspiration of an engagement ring the tool 120 engages in a userinteractive social trade-off analysis between different goods andservice to be associated with the aspirational goal 116, namely the tool120 may guide the user 114 through a series of merchants 142 and ringstyles there from until a ring is selected and an initial monetary goalcan be identified and associated with the account 112. The tool 120 userinteractive social trade-off analysis is also part of the savings plan118 associated with the selected aspiration, for example the time neededto attain the goal of a selected ring given the user's recourses mayrequire the user to adjust the goal 116 (or adjust the plan 118 byincreasing savings contributions rate, and/or increasing savingsamplification efforts such as by increasing the users 152 forcrowdfunding, or electing to develop a comprehensive group for merchantdiscounts).

As shown in FIG. 2B, the tool 120 will also guide the user 114 throughsome of the collaborative savings amplifications aspects or tool 150 ofthe system which are configured to increase the effective monetaryamounts in an individual account 112 to advance the savings plan 118 tothe aspirational goal 116 above the principal contributions of the user114. As discussed in the present application the collaborative savingsamplification tool 150 of the system can include i) user controlledsocial network (151 or separate social network) based crowdfunding of aspecific aspirational goal 116 assigned to one of an individual user'saccounts 112; ii) gamification of individual accounts 112 from thefinancial institutions 132 or the merchants 142; iii) group purchasingdiscounts attributable to an individual user's accounts 112 wherein agroup for group purchasing is formed by a collection of individualplatform user's 114 having aligned aspirational goals (E.g., all seekinghigh end jewelry); iv) Reverse Auction from merchant; v) maximization ofthe interest for the individual and vi) content co-creation.

As noted herein in the system 100 the host electronic network platform110 develops, modifies and monitors a savings plan 118 associated witheach individual account 112 which can be illustrated to the user 114 intool 120 as shown in FIG. 2C. Here the user 114 has selected a givenaspirational goal 116 of a $2,300 engagement ring from a given merchant142 and the plan 118 to achieve the goal includes $1,500 in usersavings, $500 in user pre-approved crowd-funding from designated users114 or 152, Interest of $20 over one year for the plan 118 and groupbuying or merchant discount accounting for $280 of effective money toreach the goal 116.

FIGS. 3A-F are schematic representations of screen shots of analternative similar representative aspiration savings goal authoringtool 100 of the internet based user controlled aspirational savingssocial network system 100 of FIGS. 1C-D. As noted above the tool 120 isconfigured to assist individual platform users 114 in discovery andarticulation of specific aspirational goals 116 to be assigned to eachindividual account 112 of the user 114, and assign at least an initialmonetary goal amount associated with the individual account 112 basedupon the specific aspirational goal 116 assigned to the account 112. Asshown in FIG. 3A the tool 120 can include listings or categories 122 ofprospective aspirational goods and services or conventional aspirationswhich can help the user to identify their specific aspirations 116, andsuch visualization of conventional aspirations is helpful to define auser's actual aspirations 116. It should be apparent that the system 100can elaborate in greater detail on any given category of aspiration withmerely the user clicking on the desired category. This aspect need notbe further detailed.

As noted above after the user 114 identifies the general aspiration ofan engagement ring the tool 120 may guide the user through a series ofmerchants 142 and ring styles there from as shown in FIG. 3B withdesired details, including user feedback being available to the user114. The user 114 may have other users 114 or 152 provide input to helpfinalize a goal 116 such as voting for one of two desired rings, asshown in FIG. 3C. This feedback can also be considered as a part of thesystem amplification of savings tool 150 as the feedback from otherusers will help sharpen and often decrease the costs of a specificaspiration 116 (here the votes are leaning toward a $400 savings—inanother example another user 114 or 152 may recommend a separatemerchant with the same goods at a lower price—which will again advancethe savings plan 118).

Once a goal is selected (e.g., a particular ring) then an initialmonetary goal can be identified and associated with the account 112. Asdiscussed, the tool 120 user interactive social trade-off analysis isalso part of the savings plan 118 associated with the selectedaspiration. FIG. 3D schematically represents the user 114 and system 100interactions for developing a specific plan.

The tool 120 will also assist the user in amplification of the savingswith tool 150 which can include i) user controlled social network (151or separate social network) based crowdfunding of a specificaspirational goal 116 assigned to one of an individual user's accounts112; ii) gamification of individual accounts 112 from the financialinstitutions 132 or the merchants 142; iii) group purchasing discountsattributable to an individual user's accounts 112 wherein a group forgroup purchasing is formed by a collection of individual platform user's114 having aligned aspirational goals (E.g., all seeking high endjewelry); iv) reverse auction from merchant; v) maximization of theinterest for the individual vi) content co-creation; and budgetingtools. FIG. 3E illustrate a representative screen the user 114 canencounter in promoting the user's aspiration 116 to an identified socialnetwork of users 152 or 114.

The tool 120 will monitor modify and update the users plan 118 andprogress there on as shown in FIG. 3F. In FIG. 3F a relationship orfriendship score 170 associated with this project is shown to helpidentify funding sources and sources of support, comment or the like.The scores for every project can be accumulated to show an individual'sfriendship or relationship score overall as discussed below inconnection with FIG. 9.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of savings amplification for arepresentative user aspiration 116 (the same as used in FIGS. 2 and 3for comparison) using the internet based user controlled aspirationalsavings social network system 100 according FIG. 1C-D. As noted abovethe collaborative savings amplifications aspects or tool 150 of thesystem 100 is configured to increase the effective monetary amounts inan individual account 112 to advance the savings plan 118 to theaspirational goal 116 above the principal contributions of the user 114.As discussed in the present application the collaborative savingsamplification tool 150 of the system can include i) user controlledsocial network (151 or separate social network) based crowdfunding of aspecific aspirational goal 112 assigned to one of an individual user'saccounts 112; ii) gamification of individual accounts 112 from thefinancial institutions 132 or the merchants 142; iii) group purchasingdiscounts attributable to an individual user's accounts 112 wherein agroup for group purchasing is formed by a collection of individualplatform user's 114 having aligned aspirational goals (E.g., all seekinghigh end jewelry); iv) reverse auction from merchant; v) maximization ofthe interest for the individual and vi) content co-creation. Some ofthese are partially illustrated in FIG. 8. Here the user 114 hasselected a given aspirational goal 116 of a $2,300 engagement ring froma given merchant 142 and the plan 118 to achieve the goal includes$1,500 in user savings. The amplification of savings for this goalinclude $500 in user pre-approved crowd-funding from designated users114 or 152, interest of $20 over one year for the plan 118 and groupbuying or merchant discount accounting for $280 of effective money toreach the goal 116.

The user controlled social network (151 or separate social network)based crowdfunding of a specific aspirational goal 112 assigned to oneof an individual user's accounts 112 is described herein in detail andis illustrated as amplifying the users savings in the example of FIG. 8.It should be noted that the present invention is a “narrowcast” model inthat it uses ONLY the users designated by the subject user 114 forcrowdfunding purposes. Further, the “funding” may be feedback that isalternative to money that results in advancing the user 114 along hispath.

Gamification of individual accounts 112 from the financial institutions132 or the merchants 142 is another feature of the amplification tool150 of the system 100. Gamification is generally known as the use ofgame thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users insolving problems and increase users' self contributions. Gamificationhas been widely applied in marketing. Over 70% of Forbes Global 2000companies surveyed in 2013 said they planned to use gamification for thepurposes of marketing and customer retention. Gamification strategiesoften use rewards for players who accomplish desired tasks orcompetition to engage players. Here the system 100 is configured forsweepstakes type reward gamification systems and strategies to beutilized and implemented by the financial institutions 132 and/or themerchants 142 for amplification of savings. Additionally the system 100is configured for gamification via users 114 (or 152) or groups of users114 (or 152), such as via user sponsored games contests or challenges.In the example of FIG. 8 the gamification strategy is noted but it didnot amplify the savings in this circumstance (e.g. the user 114 here didnot win with this account).

Group purchasing discounts attributable to an individual user's accounts112 wherein a group for group purchasing is formed by a collection ofindividual platform user's 114 having aligned aspirational goals (E.g.,all seeking high end jewelry) is another amplification component of thetool 150 and is shown in connection with the example of FIG. 8. It isnoted that such group buying may be user driven or merchant 142 drivenas described further herein.

Another amplification component of the tool 150 is a reverse auctionfrom merchant 142 who have access to the system 150 and the specificaspirations 116 of the users 114. Thus a merchant 142 (e.g., a jeweler)may approach a user with an offer for a specified good that is or alignswith the user's aspiration 116. Such offers will typically be below thegeneral price of the goods and repetition of the process with multiplemerchants 142 will tend to drive the price down.

Another amplification component of the tool 150 is maximization of theinterest for the individual consideration of the offerings of one ormore financial institutions 132 and optimizing the interest available toan individual user 114, which may include collecting or combiningmultiple user funds into a combined account (e.g., a “sweep account”) toincrease the yield for an individual. A relatively higher yield is shownin FIG. 8 than may currently be available for a short term savings of anindividual. The collaboration of multiple users 114 on the same system100 allows for effective maximization of the interest.

Content co-creation is another amplification component of the tool 150and is shown schematically in FIG. 8, however it does not “amplify” theuser savings in this particular example. As described the system 100promotes user customization of merchant products and/or user feedback tomerchants 142 in a manner promoting merchant product modification at amacro or individual level. Content co-creation in the system 100 allowsfor consumer to business interaction and for customization of existingmerchandize and for feedback to merchants 142 and to users 114, each ofwhich is critically valuable to merchants 142, who may reward users 114directly or through a gamification stratagem. Content co-creation isschematically illustrated in FIG. 10, in which the overlap betweenproducts available a merchant 142 and the user's goals (formingaspirations 116) is initially small but can be enlarged through afeedback collaborative process. Thus the system facilitates aco-creation of content forming user aspirations 116. The user createdmerchandize customization will drive newer versions of products and orproduct offerings. Merchants 142 will use information to modify, changeor adjust products at the macro level or at the individual user level asappropriate.

User budgeting tools is another amplification component of tool 150 asthe system 150 will allow the user 114 to better budget and use“discovered” savings to amplify savings toward their aspiration. Dataanalytics may be utilized to implement the budgeting tool. Conventionalbudgeting techniques and formats of existing budget development programsmay be incorporated for this aspect of the tool 150.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the system 100 may identify a savings wish oraspiration or goal 116 for a particular user 114 by accepting a usersupplied savings wish 116 and/or by gathering input to derive or inferthe user's savings wish 116, (e.g., from past transaction records,social media account content associated with the user, contacts of theuser (within the savings platform or external accounts), etc.) Forexample, the system 100 may provide a platform, e.g., as for examplehosted on a server 113, that is presented via an interface 120 at 401,e.g., via a web browser or downloadable application viewed on a clientdevice. In the interface 120, a user 114 may provide, e.g., explicitlyselect, a savings wish 116 at 402. For example, a user 114 may select asavings wish 116 from among predetermined savings wishes, which in turnmay be categorized 122, e.g., vacations, products, services, or thelike. The user 114 may also identify a savings wish or aspiration 116that is not listed in a predetermined format, e.g., via typing in orotherwise providing input to the interface 120 to indicate what is thesavings aspiration 116. In the system 100, such information may bepassed to an administrator or other user 114 connected to the savingsplatform 110 in order to provide specific assistance in identifying thesaving user's aspiration 116.

In terms of a visualization that is presented to the various systemparticipants, e.g., to a saving user 114, a user 114 will be providedwith an organized presentation of the progress along a plan 118 towardsachieving the wishes 116 or wishes 116 of the saving user 114. This mayvary from user to user, e.g., among saving users, among different typesof users 114 (e.g., individuals vs. merchants, e.g., the potential poolof saving users for a particular product, etc.), or the like. Forexample, a saving user 114 may receive an indication in thevisualization and/or a notification, e.g., message provided to thesaving user, regarding the progress towards a particular wish 116, theavailability of the particular item, etc. A merchant 142 may similarlyreceive a visual, e.g., the available pool of savers 114 for aparticular item, etc., in order to gauge if a particular item or serviceshould be offered and/or to gauge the appropriate the pricing of theitem, etc.

A user's savings aspiration 116 may be inferred and suggested to theuser at 402, e.g., utilizing various data available regarding the user114, e.g., past transactions or data retrieved from another of theuser's accounts, e.g., financial accounts, social media accounts or thelike. For example, a user 114 may opt-in to a wish inferring model andprovide access to sources of information used in inferring wishes, e.g.,social media accounts, history of transactions with merchants, webaccount histories, etc.

Users 114 may access the platform 110, e.g., if authorized as determinedat 404 in FIG. 4B, and provide information that allows for spelling outor inferring an aspiration or wish 116. This may take place upon theuser's first interaction with the platform 110, e.g., at 402 and/or maybe refined or later determined, e.g., as the user 114 accesses his orher instance of the platform 110, e.g., in the form of a dashboard, asillustrated at 403, 406, 407 of FIG. 4B.

Referring back to FIG. 4A, the information provided by the user 114and/or collected on the user's behalf is transformed by the platform 110into a savings aspiration 116 and a specific plan 118 to achieve thesame at 403. This may involve determining a savings plan 118 given theresources available, e.g., as determined via the information accessibleto the platform 110 regarding the user 114, e.g., information regardingthe user's resources or history thereof, regarding participatingbusiness entities (e.g., providers of goods/services), informationregarding like users, e.g., as inferred based on characteristics ofsimilar users in the system 100 and/or collaboration between users, etc.

User-specific items, i.e., connected to the aspirations 116 of the user114, such as a product recommendation, then may be offered to the user114 as part of the savings plan 118, e.g., via matching the user's wish116 to products, services, etc. Again, this process may be repeated orrefined over time utilizing Artificial Intelligence, Machine-Learning,etc. The savings platform 110 therefore matches specific products and/orservices to the user 114 (e.g., in terms of best product/value forlowest cost/utilization of savings).

Part of developing a savings plan 118 and/or identifying a savings wish116 generally includes identifying products and/or services available,as schematically shown in the sequence of FIGS. 2A-C and 3A-F. In thisrespect, the authoring tool 120 of platform 110 may facilitatearrangements with various merchants 142 of the system 100, e.g.,merchants, product/service providers, etc., that make products and/orservices available to the saving users 114. This information may be madeavailable to the saving user 114 and/or to a wish inferring model of thetool 120 to assist in the formation of a specific wish or aspiration116, e.g., given an input of a more general savings aspiration of a user114.

Given the user's savings aspiration 116, specific products and/orservices may be identified, e.g., according to participating merchantswithin the savings platform 110. The system 100 may also provide expertinput, e.g., in the form of providing experts that conduct backgroundwork/research with product/services providers to assist the saving user114 in establishing and/or refining a savings aspiration 116, in findingproducts/services matching the savings aspiration 116 once identified.This process may include experts transacting with merchants 142 (orprospective merchants 142) that are the product/service providers forproducts/services on the saving user's behalf or on behalf of a group ofsavings users 114.

Given an identified savings aspiration 116, the system provides aninterface at 403, e.g., a savings dashboard or other display, e.g., fordisplaying the savings plan 118 including the savings required forcompleting or achieving the savings aspiration 116, for displayingsavings progress in the form of stored savings account information, fordisplaying event report information (as further described herein), etc.

Part of developing this dashboard and display may include allowing theuser 114 to pre-define or determine a specific set of social networkusers 152 (which themselves may be and likely are users 114 of thesystem) that may also have access to the savings account 112information, including the savings aspiration 116, the progress in plan118 made towards the savings wish, a sub-set of account information,etc. This facilitates collaboration among the saving user 114 and otherusers of the platform 110 and/or third parties.

The social network users 152 may also be users 114 of the system 100with the system 100 forming an internal social network, or the socialnetwork users 152 may be separately identified and communicated withthrough other existing public (or private) social networks 151, such asFACEBOOK®, TWITTER®, LINKEDIN®, PINTEREST®, GOOGLE PLUS-+®, TUMBLR®,INSTAGRAM®, VK™, FLICKR®, VINE™, MEETUP™, TAGGED™, ASK.FM™, MEETME™, andCLASSMATES™. The system 100 can interact with the servers 153 hostingother social networks in conventional fashion. The social network users152 may be part of an informal network such as a group offriends/related users on the user's smart phone or e-mail service. Thesystem 100 need only know the method of contacting the users 152, suchas interfacing through well known social networks such as those listedabove or e-mailing through contacts supplied by the user 114, or evenincorporating conventional off-line mail delivery (sometimes calledsnail mail in the on-line environment).

The predetermined user or group of social network users 152 may alsointeract with the saving user 114 via the dashboard or an onlineinstance of the savings platform 110, or through various social media151 mechanisms. For example, the other social network user(s) 152 mayleave comments or messages for the saving user 114 in the dashboard, ona social media 151 instance having information derived from thedashboard, etc. For example, other social network users 152 mayencourage the saving user 114 towards the savings wish or aspiration116, or through feedback prompt a change to the aspiration 116 resultingin modification of the plan. The predetermined group of social networkusers 152 may be defined by the user 114 creating the savings account112. This display or dashboard may be accessible online or formed in adownloadable application that is populated with data from online accountstorage.

For example, the system 100 may provide a secure online interface orsavings dashboard that may be accessed by other (pre-identified) socialnetwork users 152 associated with the user 114. Likewise, informationderived from the dashboard may be accessible by the predetermined users152 in another format, e.g., as presented in a web browser ordownloadable application, in a social media feed, etc.

Referring again to FIG. 4B, secured access, e.g., facilitated by viasocial media account associations, may be provided by the system 100 at404 in form of determining if a user or users (152 or 114) have beengranted access to the dashboard and/or information derivable there from.For example, access may be provided to social media contacts of thesaving user 114, e.g., friends, family, or the like.

Therefore, once a user 114 has established a savings wish or wishes 116,established an account 112 to which the wish 116 is associated, and hasidentified other social network users 152 (which may be separate users114) that have been authorized by the user 114 may access and viewinformation regarding the savings, e.g., progress (or lack thereof)along a savings plan 118. Such savings information of the saving user114 may be provided to a predetermined social network user 152 havingaccess to view the savings account information 112, as determined at404. For example, a predetermined social network user 152 may be givenaccess to the savings account 112 information (or a sub-set thereof) at405. If the social network user 152 has not granted access, e.g., hasnot identified and approved by the associated user 114, then access isnot permitted, and it is possible that the saving user 114 may be thesole individual having access to the savings information of account 112(if he so desires). Note that the predetermination of a set ofauthorized social network users 152, the user 114 may be relatively openand authorize access to a wide range of social network users 152 (e.g. auser 114 such as the Rotary Club having a savings aspiration 116 of 1000toys from a merchant 142 for distribution at Christmas and may authorizeall users 152 of a number of social networks 151 to be the authorizedsocial network users 152.

The system 100 may distinguish between the savings user 114 and otherusers 152 attempting to access the saving user's information at 406.This may include pushing savings user information to other users 152,e.g., according to a policy with respect to timing, the occurrence of asavings event, etc. Thus, if a user 114 or 152 is granted access at 405,it may be further determined if the user 114 or 152 is the savings user142 or another predetermined user 152 at 406. If this is the savingsuser 114, the full savings dashboard and information contained thereinmay be accessible at 407, otherwise a subset of information may be madeavailable at 408.

The system 100 may provide access to predetermined users 152 in avariety of ways. For example, as discussed above the system 100 mayaccept from the saving user 114 explicit indication(s) of which user(s)152 are to be provided access to information of a specific savingsaccount 112. Thus, the saving user 114 may provide input identifying oneor more users 152, e.g., via entry of their user account information(e.g., email account information, social media account information,etc.). Moreover, a user 114 may identify one or more users 152 via entryof classifications of users 152 that are to be provided access to thesavings account information. For example, an embodiment may provideinput indicating that a certain circle of friends within a social mediaaccount are to be provided access, etc. Such access provided toadditional users 152 may include various levels of privilege granted tosuch users 152 to “View”, “Comment”, or “Edit” as part of Collaborationto achieve the Savings Aspiration 116, Wish, or Goal. The system 100 mayprovide that users 152 with a select level of privileges (e.g., “Edit”privileges) may be able to make monetary or in-kind contributions toaccelerate the fulfillment of the savings aspiration/wish/goal.

Alternatively, the system 100 may automatically determine user(s) 152that are to be provided access to the savings account information, whichset is approved or acknowledged by the user 114. For example, anembodiment may infer that the savings user 114 is closely associatedwith another user or users 114, e.g., via association of social mediaaccounts (for example, using the saving user's social media contacts),via association of cloud based accounts (financial, social or othertypes of accounts), via a collaborative relationship within the savingsplatform 110, etc. Thus, the system 100 may automatically determinewhich user(s) 152 have access to the savings account information of theuser 114. Such automated determination may be suggested to the savinguser 114 for approval of the automatic determination, but need notnecessarily be suggested and/or approved by the savings user 114, asthey could be provided to be automatic unless restricted by the user 114(i.e. an implicit authorization of the users 152).

By way of example, referring to FIG. 5, for a user 114 that wants tosave for a wish 116 of sending his or her children to a particularschool, to save for a particular vacation, or the like, the user 114 maycreate a savings account 112 with the wish(s) 116 in mind that is/areidentified (e.g., explicitly using user input and/or inferred) at 501.For example, a user 114 may provide inputs and/or data may be accessedfrom which inferences may be made such that an embodiment may identifywhat the savings wish 116 is, i.e., what the user 114 is saving for andthus which aspiration 116 is to be assigned with the individual account112.

Given the identified wish 116 (which may be more than one wish to form acombine aspiration), a dashboard may developed and/or refined at 502,including in one example a feature of permitting access to other users152, e.g., friends, family, etc., of the saving user 114, such thatthese other users 152 may have access to reason(s) or wish(s) 116 forsaving in the account 112. In addition to providing the predetermineduser(s) 152 with access to the reason(s) or wish(s) 116 for saving,e.g., at 505, the system 100 may provide event reports to the savinguser 114 and/or the predetermined user(s) 152 or subsets thereof. Theseevent reports may be the same or different depending on the user(s) 114or 152 (or subset thereof) to which it is provided, e.g., according topredetermined permissions, for example established when the saving user114 creates the savings account 112, thereafter, or as periodically orfrequently updated, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, the system 100 may determine asavings event has occurred at 503. For example, the saving user 114 maydeposit money to the savings account 112 as determined at 503, which maybe part of plan 118. Similarly, an important event may come to pass,e.g., ½ of the monetary goal of the savings wish 116 has been reached.Another non-limiting example of a savings events may include a calendardate of importance has been reached, e.g., one year since savings werestarted, three weeks without adding to the savings account, two weeksuntil a wish or milestone is achieved, etc.

If a savings event has occurred, as determined at 503, the system mayprepare an event report at 504. For example, the system 100 may preparea summary event report at 504 which is delivered to the predetermineduser(s) 152 or subsets thereof and/or user 114, e.g., via social mediafeed. As a specific example, if the savings event determined at 503 isthe user 114 exceeding a threshold amount of savings, e.g., ⅓ of thesavings required to achieve the wish 116, a summary report may beprepared at 504 in the form of a TWITTER® social media 151 accountmessage stating that “{User A} is only ⅔ away from vacationing inHawaii”. This message may be provided by an embodiment at 505 to thepredetermined user(s) 152, e.g., to the saving user's followers on hisor her TWITTER® social media account.

Thus, for a user 114 having developed a savings account 112 with thewish 116 of saving for a vacation, and having identified user(s) 152that are permitted access to the savings account 112 information (orsubset thereof), information derived from the savings account may beprovided to the predetermined users 152 in a variety of ways. Forexample, a social media 151 feed may be provided to the predetermineduser(s) 152 account(s) having savings account information therein. Thus,the predetermined user(s) 152 may be apprised of the savings wishes 116of the user 114 and/or the saving user's progress (or lack thereof) inthe plan 118 toward achieving the savings wish(s) 116.

The system allows users 114 (individual users and/or business users) tocollaborate in an interactive economy created by the savings platform110 such that consumer-to-consumer interactions, business-to-consumerinteractions, consumer-to-business interactions, andbusiness-to-business interactions are facilitated. Savings, or effectivemonetary amounts as noted above and as used herein, may refer to actualmonetary savings and also may refer to savings realized via reducedcost, improved efficiency, etc.

At a macro-level, savings in an individual account 112 may be consideredthe savings (e.g., cost reduction) for a group or for an entireecosystem, e.g., an entire community. At a micro-level, individual users114 of the platform 110 may save in terms of reduced cost of items,increased efficiency, etc. Savings, as further elaborated on herein, ismore than the simple difference between disposable incomes lessconsumption. Rather, savings is more inclusive and reflects a broaderdefinition including but not limited to (1) holdings directed towardsmerchandise as part of periodic/day-to-day consumption, and (2) holdingsin addition to “disposable income” (e.g., inherited wealth, lotterywinnings, etc.). The system joins similar users 114 together forcollaboration. Users 114 may be associated with one another based onsome metric or dimension, e.g., similar wish or aspiration 116. Thus,users 116 may collaborate with one another in various ways. These users,for example, may work together to achieve a common wish, e.g., aco-ownership arrangement. Therefore, the system 100 facilitates usersidentifying one another and working together to intelligently managetheir savings. The system 100 facilitates creation of an“Internet-of-Savings”, i.e., connecting the ecosystem of “savings” tothe ecosystem of products/services/experiences of value; i.e.,connecting savings to aspirations resulting in greater purpose. In sodoing, the system 100 inspires and influences elevated savings.

Co-ownership may be further elaborated with an example. Consider whereuser 114 (Jack) is saving to buy a Tesla (aspiration 116) and anothercollaborative user 114 (Jill) contributes towards that goal, she mayinvoke the option to have access to the vehicle (once bought): thisaccess could be provided unobtrusively to maximize utilization by bothprimary & secondary ‘owners’, or, otherwise: e.g., Jill's access duringperiods when Jack is not using the vehicle, or, Jack+Jill both sharing aroad-trip/commute-into-work; Several other use-cases and permutationsshould be included in the scope of the patent such as sharedvacation/hotel-stays, etc. with the Saver having the option to prefercontributions of contributors that do NOT request shared/partialownership over those that do [e.g., if Jill and Joan both contribute,Jack may have the option of accepting Joan and rejecting Jill'scontribution b/c of the latter's request for partial ownership; Variantsmay include—but not limited to—instances where a certain level ofcontribution is needed to extend the ask for partial ownership [e.g, ifthe threshold for ownership is contributing at least 50% of the savingsgoal, Jack may ask Jill to reduce her contribution to 49% at which timehe will accept the contribution].

The system 100 reduces the complexity and information overload in thesavings process (e.g., visual/product-design constructs are providedthat shows progress towards fulfillment of aspirations rather thanoverwhelming a consumer/saving user with the jargon of interest rates,APYs, etc., that often have no emotional resonance or purpose associatedwith them). The system further provides trusted guidance and deploymentof back-end data/analytics/algorithms to provide a recipe, etc. (e.g.,principal and timeline needed to achieve savings aspirations which arewithin the user's means). This may include providing advising andcounseling, e.g., if an aspiration 116 identified by the user isotherwise is not practical for the user 114

The system 100 facilitates users collaborating to attain “savings”aspirations 116 including those that would otherwise hitherto have nothave been possible without: a) collaboration/support (e.g., by engagingother designated users/friends/family/financial counselors/product andservice and experience subject-matter experts); b) benefiting from thescale and the efficiency that the two connected ecosystems (i.e.,savings and products/services/experiences) creates to deliver thehighest value at the lowest cost. The system 100 therefore stimulatesgreater and more thoughtful consumption by tying together various users,experience advisors, and ecosystems.

The system 100 provides feedback loops and mechanisms among the variouscollaborators (users 114, 152, and merchants 142 and even the financialinstitutions 132. With feedback loops and both micro- and macro-signalsbetween saver/user 114 and merchant 142 (provider/producer/manufacturer)of products/goods/services, the system 100 results in elevatedexperience and elevated productization/design/innovation.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a friendship or relationshipscoring system 170 (or relationship score 170) for the internet baseduser controlled aspirational savings social network system 100 accordingFIG. 1C-D. Essentially for every user 114 (Alice in the example) who hasengaged in a project (or aspiration 116) of their own or interacted withanother user on the system 100 the interactions of the collaborators 114(and 152) are maintained and quantified. A relationship score 170 ofevery other user 114 or 152 thus associated with the specific user 114Alice can be developed that is based upon the relative interactionsbetween the related users. For example for user Dave there is a record172 of two contributions to Dave's projects from user 114 Alice andreceipt of one contribution to one of Alice's project and the two bothwere associated commonly with two other users' projects. The higher thelevel of interaction the higher the score and the relative scores areshown visibly through an inverse relationship of the distance from thegiven user 114 (Alice). In other words in the graphic representation,higher that an individual's score 170 (for that user 114) is than thecloser the user icon is shown relative to the user 114. The scoringsystem 170 can also appropriately identify and account for “one sided”relationships (i.e. where one party is always funding and commenting andassisting in the aspirations 116 of the other with no reciprocation orvice versa). The relationship scoring system 170 can be helpful inuser's maintaining an effective aspirational savings social networkwithin system 100. The relationship scoring system 170 is applied toevery project associated with an account 112 (and aspiration 116), asshown in FIG. 3F, and the collection of these project relationshipscores 170 involving a user 114 form the individual total relationshipscore 170 as shown in FIG. 9.

The system 100 results in a reduction/substitution of the need to lendvia commercial institutions (such as some of the financial institutions132), namely by tracking contributions from the specific social networkusers 114 (and to a lesser extent 152) over time; through system 170implemented on the platform 110 the system 100 may codify or designatesuch contributions as IOUs or equivalents. Thus the system 100 urges auser 114, Jack, to (in)voluntarily contribute to a collaborative user114, Jill's savings goal 116 (based on “IOU” from Jill's support ofJack's previous savings goal). Should Jack decline, such behavior maypotentially adversely impact Jack's Relationship Score 170. In principalsuch relationship scores 170 could serve as proxies forcreditworthiness—or worthiness to receive support for savings goals. Inthis example, the reduced relationship score 170 may diminish Jack'sstanding within his ‘network’ to receive contributions for his ownfuture ‘savings’ goals 116.

Consumer-to-Consumer Interactions

The system 100 facilitates consumer-to-consumer interactions via asavings platform. The system 100 accesses saving users' information asnoted in FIG. 6 at 601 in an effort to identify like users 114 withinthe savings platform 110. For example, an embodiment may determine at602 that two or more savings users 114 are alike given similaraspirations or wishes 116 between the users 114. Moreover, system 110allows users 114 to explicitly identify other users 114 that are to beconsidered similar and thus suitable for collaboration, e.g.,consumer-to-consumer collaboration. In an embodiment, the like users 114may be identified at 602 based on an inference of user wishes 116 andsimilarity between the users' wishes 116. This may be based on, forexample, explicitly provided user wish information, account transactioninformation of the users 114, social media account information of theusers 114, similarity between requested goods/services among the users114, expert reports categorizing the users 114 based on variouscharacteristics, etc.

A user 114 may have a profile, e.g., including demographic information,etc. This profile may be accessible to other users 114 that want tocollaborate, e.g., co-located users 114 identified by the user devices(e.g., via short-range wireless mesh networking and/or via intermediary,e.g., internet connectivity). This may be controlled by the users 114,e.g., opting in or out of sharing or collaborating, and/or temporarilyopting in and out of collaboration scenarios at various times. Thiscollaboration facilitated via similarity metrics, e.g., derived from auser profile, and may facilitate communications in real time between theusers.

If users 114 are determined to be alike and thus suitable forcollaboration, e.g., consumer-to-consumer collaboration, the system 100may facilitate communication and thus collaboration there-between. Forexample, an embodiment may automatically provide an indication of thelike user's existence within the platform 110 to another user at 603(noting that the platform 110 may be distributed among the user devicesand/or centrally hosted or supported or curated). Consumer-to-consumercollaboration may thus be facilitated by the savings platform 110. As anexample, users 114 may be identified as alike, e.g., explicitly byhaving the users identify one another or share particular informationand/or implicitly, such as based on similarities between savingsplatform behavior, e.g., transaction behaviors, etc. Thus, an embodimentmay determine users 114 are alike at 603 and capturelife-event/aspirations and the financial objectives, e.g., in the formof a savings plan 118, that will enable the like users 114 work towardsachieving these wishes 116 in a collaborative fashion. For example,savings plans 118, financial consulting/advising, etc., may be gearedtowards a group of like users 114. In an example, a communication may beprovided, e.g., at 603, to a like user 114 identifying another user'swishes 116. This communication may therefore facilitate the receivinguser 114 to participate/collaborate in the other user's savings plan118. For example, the user 114 receiving the communication identifyingthe like user 114 may be provided access to the other user's accountinformation of account 112 or wishes 116 (or information derived therefrom) such that the like user 114 may be familiarized with the otheruser's aspirations 116. This may for example be used to alert a friendor family member of the like user 114 of his or her aspirations 116. Theusers 114 may then collaborate to achieve the particular wish oraspiration 116. By way of example, a network of friends/family/others(users 152) may contribute to a particular user's savings account 112,e.g., the form of cash or other contribution, such that the saving user114 may be assisted in achieving the particular savings wish oraspiration.

Saving users 114 may thus explicitly or implicitly (e.g., based ontransaction behaviors, social media account information, etc.) havelife-event/aspirations determined, e.g., as outlined in FIGS. 4A-B.Given these determinations, an embodiment may formulate the financialobjectives/savings wishes 116 that will enable the saving users 114 toaccomplish these wishes 116 in a collaborative way, e.g., based on asimilarity determination as outlined in FIG. 6. For example, the system100 may infer that a saving user 114 wishes to be married and have awedding reception at a particular venue, e.g., as derived from access tothe saving user's web browsing history, social media account, or asexplicitly identified by the savings user 114. The system 100 maydetermine various mechanisms by which the saving user 114 may accomplishthe wishes 116 as facilitated by collaborative efforts. For example,given the ability to find like users 114 within the savings platform110, the various users 114 may work together to achieve a common wish116, e.g., a network of friends/family/others (namely users 152) maycontribute to a particular user's savings account 112, e.g., the form ofcash or other contribution, such that the saving user 114 may beassisted in achieving the particular savings wish or aspiration 116 suchas securing a particular wedding venue.

Other collaborations are of course possible, e.g., purchasing of itemsas a group from a particular merchant and achieving a group discount,comparing notes and experiences with achieving a particular wish orinteracting with a particular merchant 142, making shared travel plans,etc. Accordingly, like-minded users 114 that have wishes 116 alignedwith one another in some way may be connected, e.g., in real time orover a longer period of time to achieve a long term wish.

As another illustrative example, in the case of travel and lodging,users 114 (e.g., saving users) may communicate explicitly via thedashboard or implicitly (e.g., via event reports made on a saving user'sbehalf to other savings users 114, e.g., based on geo-location, likewishes, social media contacts, etc.) in order to facilitate saving users114 working together to achieve common wish(s) 116. For example, savingusers 114 going to the same travel destination at the same time mayconnect with one another, e.g., via dashboard communication, to comparenotes, make shared travel/vacation plans, request value items (e.g.,services, products, etc.) as a group, etc.

Business-to-Consumer Interactions

In a similar fashion, the system 100 may facilitate business-to-consumer(saving user) communication and agreement formation. For example, in theprocess outlined in FIG. 7, merchants 142 (e.g., merchants providingvalue items) may be given access to information regarding saving userwishes (e.g., statistics regarding a number of saving users that haveidentified various wishes, how much these saving users have saved, forhow long, etc.), e.g., in the form of an event report, and be offered anopportunity to proactively offer value items to the saving users orgroups thereof. This is facilitated by the system 100 identifying likeusers at 701 and associating various value items offered by merchant 142with the wishes of these like users at 702. The system 100 may identifythe providers of these value items at (603 of FIG. 6) such that aconnection (e.g. 703) may be made between the various like user groupsand the providers of goods/services associated with thewishes/aspirations of these users.

Thus, business may be users of the savings platform in a sense that theymay access the system and participate therein. The system 100 providesan opportunity for businesses to leverage scale for selling of valueitem inventory to saving users, again in advance and typically at adiscount. Thus, according to an embodiment, value item merchants may bidor offer value items (e.g., goods, services, etc.) for explicitly and/orimplicitly determined needs of saving users for particular value items.If an agreement is made, e.g., between like users and a merchant, asdetermined at 604, the parameters of the agreement may be compiled in anevent report at 605 and provided to the various participants, e.g., likeusers and merchants, at 606. Therefore, an embodiment facilitatesagreement formation, e.g., group purchasing of items or services at adiscount from merchants.

Consumer-to-Business Interactions

As an extension of the sharing/collaboration economy and value-exchange,e.g., as outlined in connection with FIG. 6, an embodiment may create asharing/collaboration platform by which various entities (e.g., savingusers, businesses interacting with the savings users, etc.) maycollaborate to accomplish various wishes linked to the saving user(s)and their wishes.

In an embodiment, communication, either direct or indirect, may befacilitated between saving users and businesses given the abovedescribed mechanisms for making improvements. For example, saving usersmay communicate directly or via an intermediary (e.g., a host serviceproviding the savings dashboard) to provide feedback to businesses inways that enable incremental improvements to how value items (e.g.,products/services/experiences) are provided, as well as breakthroughconsumer-designed innovations to these processes, products, services, orexperiences.

For example, value item merchants may adjust pricing, timing, type orcontent of value items offered, or even determine new value items tooffer, e.g., on the basis of feedback from various saving users. By wayof example, an embodiment may provide a business with feedback that,having an offer for a value item (e.g., discount travel accommodations),only thirty percent of the saving user's identified, e.g., at 601 ofFIG. 6, opted to “purchase” or save towards the discount travelaccommodations, e.g., via formation of an agreement at 604.

This may in turn be supplemented with additional feedback, e.g., derivedfrom communication with the saving users, as to the reasons why (e.g.,not offered soon enough, not the correct price, not the type ofaccommodations needed or desired). All such information may be utilizedby the businesses and/or the savings interface provider to refine thevalue items offered, the timing of offers, the pricing of offers, thediscovery and articulation of savings wishes, etc.

Therefore, an embodiment may utilize positive and/or negative signals ortrends derived from the platform or dashboards of various savings users(e.g., demand for specific merchandise and/or top sources of customersatisfaction/dissatisfaction, etc.) to change, modify, or optimizeoperations, even in other channels (e.g., inventory/assortment ofmerchandise in brick and mortar retail stores, other online offerings,etc.). These signals or trends may take place at the macro-level, e.g.,a group of users 114, and/or at an individual level. An embodimenttherefor provides a mechanism for feedback to businesses in ways thatenable incremental improvements to their products/services as well asbreakthrough consumer-designed innovations.

The system may utilize both positive and negative signal from theplatform to improve services/products from top sources of customersatisfaction or dissatisfaction. Such trend data, e.g., derived fromgroups of like users 114 and their behaviors in the platforms (e.g.,purchases, refusals to purchase, etc.) may be utilized to identifydemand for specific merchandise/services such that businesses may beapprised of such trend information, e.g., via report provided by anembodiment at 605, to change or optimize operations in other channelssuch as inventory/assortment/supply chain of merchandise in storesand/or offerings made via the platform.

Business-to-Business Interactions

An embodiment may likewise facilitate business-to-business collaborationin a similar way as business to consumer/saving users are facilitated.For example, large enterprises serving small/mid-sized businesses (SMB)may utilize similar collaboration and feedback mechanisms (i.e., used toconstruct to business-to-consumer collaborations/interactions) in aneffort to facilitate and/or improve large to SMB business dealings.Collaboration in-between SMBs similarly may be accomplished in thisregard. That is, the “savings users” may not be individuals but ratherbusiness users (large or small/medium), and the savings wishes may bebusiness wishes, e.g., “savings” translated into other forms of savingsrelevant to a business, e.g., increased efficiency, improved pricingmodels, better supply chain management, etc.

For example, savings wishes of a business may represent wishes of aparticular business cycle, e.g., tied to cash flow needs. Likewise,collaboration between large enterprises may utilize such information andcollaboration in a suitable modification of the above. For example, inthe context of business organizations sharing best practices rather thanor as a form of savings wishes amongst each other, an embodimentfacilitates identification of alliances (i.e., saving users havingsimilar wishes), formation of deals or agreements, e.g., merger andacquisition targets as value items, etc. In this regard, for businessusers of the platform collaborating with one another, businesses mayexchange needed services with one another as the form of collaborationvia the platform rather than, e.g., individual users purchasing productsor services from merchants. As an example, a business user may beinformed, based on that businesses wishes, e.g., need for financialservices, with another business user, e.g., another business entityoffering such financial services. Similarly, feedback statistics, trendsand communications may be provided to the offering business entities,similar to the trends and feedback data provided with respect to thesavings users.

In this regard, business-to-business collaboration may includecollaboration between corporate officers, i.e., as users havingidentifiable wishes such as business cycles and associated needs, may beassociated with one another as facilitated by the platform. These usersmay be, e.g., identified to one another such that they may collaborateto achieve aligned wishes such as exchanging information on bestpractices, form business relationships/alliances, enter into deals,identify merger or acquisition targets, etc.

Thus, the system 100 facilitates a paradigm shift in bringing varioususers and entities together in terms of achieving wishes. The system 100described herein place the focus on the actual, underlying wish of whyparticular users (including personal users and business users, or both)place money into savings accounts, enter into business relationships,offer or purchase particular products or services, etc.

Whiteboard Systems and Methods

The whiteboard system 120 and associated methods were discussed above inconnection with system 100, but there are further aspects of thewhiteboard system 120 and methods that are within the scope of thepresent invention. The whiteboard system 120 may be used to facilitatesavings and alternative use of savings. Certain techniques regardingthis topic were outlined above. Returning to the whiteboard 120, manypeople save with a particular wish in mind but do not have the knowledgeor a place in which this wish may be nurtured to fruition. Many peoplefind that, while they have certain wishes, goals or aspirations, thesego largely unfulfilled. Many of these wishes, goals and aspirations areassociated in some way with financial considerations.

While certain institutions, e.g., banks, insurance companies, lenders,etc., tend to match select aspirations of users with like products,these tend to only be in-house offerings. For example, an insurancecompany may match a particular product, e.g., whole life insurance, witha particular user wish or aspiration in mind, i.e., wealth transfer to afuture generation. However, such arrangements are limited in severalimportant respects such that they cannot be considered to match savingsto a person's aspirations. First of all, such conventional savingsvehicles tend to have a singular and inflexible focus. Thus, a lifeinsurance policy does not change with time in the sense that it alwaysis aimed at achieving the same wish. Moreover, these products arecustomized, in-house offerings of the financial institution or companyand cannot be matched to other wishes of a user. Still further, thelimited amount of these products tends to categorize users into a smallamount of discrete groups, where the products do not end up matching theuser's aspirations. Finally, these products all tend to focus on longterm wishes rather than more short term wishes.

The present invention incentivizes users 114 to save by associating auser's savings 112 with a “greater” purpose or reason (goal 116) to saveor secure financing. This more closely ties the offerings available tothe personality and aspirations of the user 114. Furthermore,embodiments focus on short or mid-term wishes 116 and allow a user 114to update or modify the plan 118 as the user's aspirations change.Additionally, the invention allows the user's wishes 116 to be matchedwith savings and lending opportunities that are connected to thirdparties (e.g., vendors 142, and social network users 152), not merelyproducts offered by a particular financial intuition 132 or group ofrelated companies. The whiteboard 120 of the present inventionfurthermore permits various parties (related users 114, social networkusers 152, domain expert from vendors 142 or financial institutions 142)to collaborate via an interactive framework via the whiteboard platform120. The system 100 therefore implements a whiteboard platform 120 thatvarious parties (users 114, social network users 152, and domain expertsfrom vendors 142 or financial institutions 132) may access and interactwith in order to facilitate savings 112 of a specific user 114 for agiven aspiration 116. The system 100 directly ties products/services touser's savings 112 and/or ability to save or secure financing as well asthe user's desires or aspirations or wishes or goals 116. Therefore, thesystem 100 ties together user's savings 112 (current and in the future)or lending with the Internet of Things, including the ecosystem ofproducts, services, and experiences available or catalogued online aswell as those that are offline and the merchants or service-providersthat provide, produce, or manufacture them. In other words, the system100 creates an “Internet of Savings” tying the users' savings 112—and ata Macro level the “Savings Ecosystem” comprising of a plurality of users114 who are all “saving”—with the “Provider Ecosystem” of products,services, and experiences and the merchants or service-providers 142that provide, produce, or manufacture them. Thus, at a Macro-level, thesystem 100 creates a pool of savings that can be linked to merchants andservice providers 142 offering goods/services. Moreover, saving users114 are provided with the ability to leverage this pool of savings totake advantage of scale in making purchases of goods and services fromvendors 112.

The system 100 provides a whiteboard platform 120, e.g., implemented inan electronic device as an automated or semi-automated tool, such as byusing the system architecture outlined, which assists users 114 inidentifying wishes, goals and aspirations 116. In this process, anembodiment may facilitate identification of wishes, goals andaspirations 116 via an interactive assessment tool as part of platform120 that guides a user 114 through a process of identifying his or herwishes, goals and aspirations, e.g., via use of predetermined questionspresented via a user interface. The system 100 allows a plan or plans118 to be developed regarding these wishes, goals or aspirations 116,e.g., such that a user 114 is not only enabled to identify andarticulate his wishes, goals and aspirations 116, but is also assistedin achieving the same with provisioning of a personalized plan or plans118. This may leverage pre-existing assessment tools, techniques andquestions, such as outlined in Hemmasi et al., “Work Goals and LifeAspirations: Do you have what it takes to be an Entrepreneur,Developments” in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 27(2000), incorporated by reference herein. These questions may bepresented sequentially and dynamically updated on information availableto the whiteboard system 120, e.g., via accessing previously answeredquestions, accessing historical data regarding the user 114 (e.g.,inferred interests represented in transactions, web browsing, socialmedia activity, etc.) and the like.

This process of identification of wishes, goals and aspirations 116 anddevelopment of plans 118 regarding the same may include presentation ofquestions or activities to the user 114 that are generally designed toelicit responses from a user 114 in order to refine broader categories122 of possible wishes, goals and aspirations 116, and that allow a plan118 to be refined, expanded or modified as necessary. User input mayform a more basic starting point for developing a specific goal oraspiration 116 of the user, for example a user 114 may take a cameraphone shot, online screenshot of a desired object, like a car, and thisimage uploaded to the whiteboard 120 and serve as the basis to betranslated into a goal 116. Via curation by the well-wishing communityand/or feedback with merchants 142. The development white-boardingprocess may include automatically importing information regarding a user114 or a particular group of users 114 to which the user 114 in questionbelongs. This imported information may be gathered automatically,semi-automatically or manually and may include information deriveddirectly from the user 114, indirectly from a user 114 (e.g., viaaccessing various data bases with which the user 114 has providedinformation, such as a transaction history stored in a data base),and/or from other users 114 or parties (152, 142, 132) with which theuser 142 has some linkage or association.

The whiteboard 120 also permits users 114 to publicize their wishes,goals and aspirations 116, e.g., using social media connections (e.g.,social networks 151) to friends 152, contacts, etc. In an example, auser 114 may have their wishes, goals or aspirations 116 shared withfamily and friends (152) identified by the whiteboard 120, e.g., usingsocial media connections or using information within the whiteboardsystem 120 itself, e.g., other users 114 having similar wishes, goals oraspirations 114, domain experts in these areas, commercial or corporateusers 142 and 132, etc. In an aspect, the whiteboard system 120 mayfacilitate publicizing or sharing of a user's wishes, goals andaspirations 116, e.g., via suggesting other users 114 to whom thesubject user 114 may publicize information, facilitating introductions.The whiteboard system 120 may offer suggested messaging language giventhe nature of the particular users 114, etc. In one embodiment, thewhiteboard 120 may intelligently identify users 114 sharing commonattributes in order to facilitate interaction there-between, e.g., withgoal of building mutually beneficial relationships between users 114.This may be thought of as the whiteboard 120 automatically leveragingartificial intelligence systems to facilitate such interactions betweenusers 114.

Such interaction and facilitation of the same may take place on severaldifferent levels with several different aims. For example, thewhiteboard 120 may allow users 114 sharing similar wishes, goals andaspirations 116 to contact one another and interact using the whiteboardplatform 120. This may be extended to facilitating users 114accomplishing a common plan item (116), e.g., saving towards thepurchase of the same particular item, securing lending or financing forthe same, accessing a domain expert that may consult more than one user114 having a similar interest, etc.

In another example, different types of users 114 may be encouraged tointeract with one another. By way of specific example, a user 114 havinga particular wish, goal or aspiration 116 may be linked to a user 114(or other party associated with the system 100) having some domainexpertise in the area of that wish, goal or aspiration 116. In at leastone embodiment, the whiteboard 120 itself may act as a virtualized userhaving domain expertise in an area, e.g., financial counseling, lifecoaching, etc. In another embodiment, the whiteboard 120 may automatethe initial contact or linkage between actual, human domain expertsand/or other users 114 and a user 114 that has expressed a wish, goal oraspiration 116. This may be accomplished by facilitating communicationsamong users 114, by suggesting links or contacts, prepopulating messagesto encourage users 114 to make contact with one another, sendingautomated messages on behalf of users 114, etc.

The whiteboard 120 may be utilized to facilitate commercial activitiesthat are aligned with users' expressed wishes, goals and aspirations 116and plans 118 for pursuing the same. For example, the whiteboard 120 maycollect, filter and present various metrics that are of interest tovarious users 114, e.g., different types of users 114 within thewhiteboard system 120 sharing a particular wish, goal or aspiration 116,having made a particular degree of progress on a plan 118 to accomplishthe same (e.g., particular amount of time working towards a wish goal oraspiration 116, particular level of savings being achieved, particulargroup of similarly aligned users 114 reaching a predetermined numberthreshold for gathering an expert or celebrity's attention, etc.). Byway of example, the whiteboard 120 may facilitate dissemination ofinformation, either detailed or generalized (e.g., with privacy of users114 in. mind), to various users 114 for accomplishing such facilitatedcollaboration. For example, individual users 114 may be giveninformation regarding other users 114 within the whiteboard 120 thathave similar wishes, goals or aspirations 116 such that interaction andcollaboration there-between may be facilitated.

As another example, users 114 of different types may be giveninformation about one another's presence within the whiteboard 120. Byway of specific example, commercial or corporate vendors 142 orcommercial users 114 may be given information regarding a number ofusers 114 having a particular wish, goal or aspiration 116 such that thecommercial or corporate venders 142 are apprised of the same. This maybe leveraged to facilitate corporate or commercial venders 142contacting individual users 114 or groups thereof with special offersand the like. Likewise, in a complementary way, individual users 114 orgroups thereof may be given information regarding commercial orcorporate venders 142 with the whiteboard system 120, e.g., thoseoffering goods or services that match some or part of a particularuser's plan 118 for achieving a wish, goal or aspiration 116.

The whiteboard 120 may be utilized in exchange for various items. Forexample, the operator of the system 100 including the whiteboard 120 orportion thereof may not charge a fee for use, e.g., for individual users114 or groups thereof. In an embodiment, the operator of the system 100or portion thereof may charge a fee for use, e.g., for corporate orcommercial venders 142 to have access to information regardingindividual users 142 or for having direct access or linkage thereto. Inone embodiment, the whiteboard 120 may include commercial mechanisms,e.g., such as facilitating online shopping for goods and servicesoffered among the users 114 of the whiteboard 120 and payment for thesame. Additionally, the whiteboard 120 may operate to collect fees fromvarious users, e.g., transaction fees, etc.

One of the aspects of the system 100 is redefining what “money” is interms of equity/value-exchange that can be redeemed to realizeaspirations 116. For example, the system 100 expands the concept of“money” into useful forms such as social equity, which may beimplemented by a mechanism that rewards or values social standing in anecosystem. The system 100 also provides for content equity, which may beimplemented by a mechanism that rewards or values thought-leadership,content, work-products created, etc. The system 100 also provides forendorsement equity, which may be implemented by a mechanism that rewardsor values endorsement by others within the ecosystem. The system 100also provides for monetary equity, i.e., cash savings.

The system 100 invention provides a more holistic or end-to-end processfor users. As shown, compared to other implementations the system 100facilitates a complete experience by allowing users 114 to aspire (e.g.,formulate and organize their desires), identify a goal 116 and achievetheir intentions to buy, plan accordingly for the same 118, and fulfillthese plans. For example, the system 100 provides a platform thatincludes the ability to fulfill an aspiration 116 through lending (e.g.,from the trusted crowd friends, family, and/or community, as well asmerchants/banks) in addition to utilizing their savings. The system 100provides a platform that includes the ability to fulfill an aspiration116 through an auctioning/bidding-process, e.g., including involvementof merchants 142 (especially for unique and highly specialized aspiredto items) in addition to group-buying (e.g., the latter may be moreprevalent where there are a plurality (e.g.,hundreds/thousands/millions) of users 114 aspiring for the same and/orsimilar items.

The system 100 provides a platform that includes the ability to fulfillan aspiration 116 through a capability to personalize/customize a moregeneric merchandise item through emergent technologies such as virtualreality, 3-D printing, space travel, etc. The system 100 includes theability to capture an aspired item/object/moment from either thephysical environment (e.g., by taking 2D/3D photos), media environment(TV, ads, etc.), digital environment (e.g., items that show up in aninternet-browsing session), or virtual worlds (e.g., from video-gamingand virtual reality simulations) and then recreating them by deployingemergent technologies noted above to realize the same.

The system 100 includes a capability to enable, track, and invokereciprocity in the collaborative savings process across short,intermediate, and long-time horizons. For example, if Jack supportsJill's aspiration of “Vacation in Hawaii” in cash or kind (e.g., a rideto the airport), such support can be tracked in the whiteboard(INSPIRAVE™) platform 120 over time (in the form of points, etc., in avariety of physical or virtual currencies). In turn, when Jack may beaspiring to save/buy e.g., an “engagementring”, the platform mayprompt/designate Jill as part of Jack's “collaborative savingscommunity” through a historic recall of the support he had rendered toJill earlier.

The system 100 includes a capability to co-create content andmerchandise as shown in FIG. 10 and discussed above. Co-creation ofcontent and merchandise extends beyond the merchant-user interface, forexample, the user 114 may write the equivalent of a “statement ofintent” or create artifacts (with co-authors from the community) thathelp the user 114 recruit the support of his trusted crowd, friends,family, community, etc. Likewise, the user 114 (e.g., drawing fromseveral of the teachings referenced above) may employ such techniques toresult in the aspired item evolving based onuser-community/manufacturer/merchant input over time. This helps moreclosely match products/services with aspirations 116 of the users 114.

The whiteboard 120 of the system 100 permits the articulating andfulfilling of aspirations 116 in the collaboration economy incollaboration with friends and family, with experts and rock-stars orcelebrities, school counselors, etc. The system 100 may use severalsources of input. For example, the system 100 may leverage the digital“pinning” of artifacts as input, e.g., for finding the folks from past,present, and/or future that truly inspire the user. The system 100 mayuse such inputs to identify activities that most engage the user 114,and identify strengths through current contraptions (e.g.,Meyers-Briggs, Gallup, Strengths finder techniques). For example, thesystem 100 may reference inputs regarding books and movies andexperiences that have most inspired the user 114. The system 100 may useinputs that help to ascertain when the user 114 was the happiest.

The whiteboard 120 of the system 100 allows a user 114 to provideinputs, e.g., to tell a story, e.g., equivalent of a college applicationessay, where the platform facilitates experts, rock stars/celebrities torecommend aspirations or other inputs. The whiteboard 120 facilitatesthe recruiting of mentors and personal and professional partners inlife. The system 100 facilitates communication such that, e.g., friendsand family get to provide input.

The whiteboard 120 may utilize a questionnaire. For example, thewhiteboard 120 may utilize a combination of explicit input from user 114and data-mined input from past history as more data is collected, e.g.,with predictive algorithms/analytics and artificial intelligence, tomake aspiration 116 suggestions. An embodiment may automate the processof identifying what are the obstacles to achieving a user's identifiedaspirations 116, e.g., obstacles to achieving a life goal. For example,the whiteboard 120 may automate the identification of money, time, work,responsibilities, etc., that may be needed to achieve the same.

Importantly, the whiteboard 120 also facilitates the process ofidentifying how a user 114 might overcome obstacles thus identified.This may include a variety of techniques. For example, if a user'sprogress along a plan 118 that is tracked by the system 100 indicates,or if the user 114 indicates, that he or she feels off track, thewhiteboard 120 may automatically suggest ways in which the user 114 mayget back on track. For example, an aspiration-commerce item may be oneway to help remove obstacles. For example, an embodiment may facilitatethe recruitment of rock-stars, celebrities, thought-leaders, etc., i.e.,folks that are rock-stars in their chosen field of endeavor in business,athletics, media, etc., to serve as mentors, lunch/dinner-dates, etc.,who may be compensated through a combination of equity noted above.

The system 100 of the present invention provides a comprehensivee-commerce solution for user 114 defined aspirational savings 116 thatallows for delivery of goods or services associated with aspirations 116directly to the user 114 from merchant 142; allows for the curation bythe well-wishing community (friends, family, advisors, etc.) of the user114 in developing and modifying the wish, goal and aspirations 116 ofspecific users 114 and in the developing and modifying the plan 118associated therewith (modification can include cancelation of the goal116 as factors may dictate); allows for whiteboard 120 co-creation andpersonalization of goals or aspirations 116 of users 114 throughcollaboration between user 114 and merchants 142 and others; provides ane-commerce solution which is not limited merely to financialapplications or savings and the platform 100 can be utilized for thingsoutside of money (things money cannot buy—i.e. lunch with a givenathlete—social equity, content equity and endorsement equity); yields ane-commerce solution or system 100 that allows for value exchange andvalue creation; allows for an effective and efficient (less waste) ingift giving and gift receiving by facilitating signals from the user tothe well-wishing community, and extensions thereof, regarding what arethe user's aspirations for targeted gifting.

With regard to gift giving, the system 100 gives the gift givingparticipants (users 114 or members 152) options by allowing the donor todonate cash to the account 112, or in the form of a gift card, BITCOIN,loyalty points, and/or payment to merchant 142 directly. The benefit tothe donor is elimination of waste and the ability to pay in multipledenomination including denominations that may be less liquid.

The system 100 may be considered as operating as a scalabledecentralized peer to peer network not limited to the exchange of value(akin to BLOCKCHAIN) but furthermore as a scalable decentralized peer topeer network for the creation and efficient capture of value.

The present system is not primarily focused upon money management but israther focused on wish identification, attainment of the goal, anddelivery of the goods or services and eliminates the focus on money. Thesystem shifts the focus away from money management and savings, which isoften limited by user's inertia (failure to act), and instead thepresent system is focused on the curated discovery of the goal, trackingprogress toward of the goal and fulfillment and delivery of the goal.

The system 100 can allows credit to be added to the mix for wishfulfillment plans 118. For example if pure savings and amplificationthereof is not sufficient to obtain the goal 116 within a desired settimeframe, then credit can be issued by a financial institution 132 tothe user 118 (or other entity such as the operator of the system 100) tohave the goal achieved and delivered in the set timeframe. Furthermorethe data points from the savings process can be utilized for expeditedand enhanced underwriting of the underlying credit issued. For example,a user 114 may have a goal 116 of buying a house in a given price rangeand the plan 118 may have a mortgage loan offered by an institution 132when the plan 118 achieves certain set points (e.g., 25% of the housevalue) with the loan underwriting being supplemented by the entireprocess/plan 118 as well has monitoring how the user follows the plan118. Essentially all of the data developing and implementing the plan118 can be used for enhanced credit underwriting process in ways thatboth decrease costs and terms for the user and decrease risk to thelender.

The system 100 can incorporate a self or community insurance aspectsinto goals and aspirations 116. For example a user 114 may set a goal ofalways maintaining a given monthly income, and if circumstances changeand the user 114 no longer has the designated income, the system 100enables messaging to other in their well-wishing community (such asother prior beneficiaries to whom the user has previously donated), andthese can quickly offer their own assistance, equivalent employmentopportunities or income as possible. Institutions 132 or merchants 142can underwrite select goals 116 in more conventional insurance contexts,as appropriate for the given goal. Essentially all of the datadeveloping and implementing the plan 118 can be used for enhancedinsurance underwriting process both decreasing costs and terms for theuser and decrease risk to the insurer.

It will be apparent the described embodiments are illustrative of thepresent invention and not restrictive thereof. Many variations to thepresent invention would be obvious to those of ordinary skill in theart, without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims andequivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An Internet based user controlled valueamplification social network system (100) comprising: at least onehardware server (113) comprising at least one computer processor uponwhich is stored a host electronic network platform (110) configured tohost individual accounts (112) for a plurality of individual platformusers (114), wherein each individual account (112) is assigned a goal(116) of goods and/or services by the account user (114), wherein thegoods and services of the goal (116) are available from goods/servicesproviders (142) associated with the host electronic network platform(110), and wherein the host electronic network platform (110) developsand monitors a value amplification plan (118) associated with eachindividual account (112); an goal authoring tool (120) is on the hostelectronic network platform (110) that is housed on at least one server(113), wherein the authoring tool (120) is accessible by the individualplatform users (114) on the Internet via the user's own electronicdevices, wherein the authoring tool (120) includes at least onepredefined category (122) of prospective goods and services to assistthe user in assigning a goal (116), and wherein the authoring tool (120)is configured to assist individual platform users (114) in discovery andarticulation of specific goals (116) to be assigned to each individualaccount of the user (114) by receiving inputs from the merchants (142)regarding prospective goods and services, and wherein the authoring tool(120) assigns at least an initial goal amount associated with anindividual account (112) based upon the specific goal's goods and/orservices which is available from goods, and/or services providers (142)associated with the host electronic network platform (110), and whereinthe authoring tool (120) is associated with a proposed valueamplification plan (118) associated with the goal (116) which isassigned to the individual account (112); a store of value providerinterface (130) is on the host network platform (110) that is housed onat least one server (113), wherein the “store of value” “store of value”provider interface (130) is configured to engage with at least one storeof value provider (132) and interacts with the goal authoring tool (120)to associate each individual account (112) associated with the goal(116) with one associated account with one associated store of valueprovider (132); and a goods, and/or services provider interface (140) onthe host network platform (110) that is housed on at least one server(113), wherein the goods, and/or services provider interface (140) isconfigured to engage with and be accessed by the plurality of goods,and/or, services providers (142) of goods and services associated witheach goal (116) of each individual account (112), wherein the goods,and/or services provider interface interacts with the system (100) toallow the goods, and/or services provider (142) to provide input to theauthoring tool (120) for associating goods and services with the user'sgoal (116).
 2. The Internet based user controlled value amplificationsystem (100) according to claim 1, wherein the system (100) furtherincludes a relationship scoring system (170) on the host networkplatform (110) that is housed on at least one server (113), wherein therelationship scoring system (170) interacts with the collaborative valueamplification amplifications tool (150) and the authoring tool (120) toreview the monetary and non-monetary contributions of a user'sdesignated well-wishing community to quantify participation in theexecuted value amplification plan (118) for each user's goals (116). 3.The Internet based user controlled value amplification system (100)according to claim 1, wherein the host network platform (110) isconfigured to co-ordinate the physical or virtual delivery and/orconnectivity/exchange/barter of the goods and/or services associatedwith the goal (116) of an individual account (112) to the user (114) ata user designated location from the good and/or services provider (142)when the value amplification plan (118) associated with that individualaccount (112) has been achieved, and wherein the host network platform(110) is configured to co-ordinate the transfer of monetary amount froman individual account (112) to the good and/or services provider (142)for the goods and service associated with the goal (116) when the plan(118) associated with that individual account (112) has been achieved.4. The Internet based user controlled value amplification system (100)according to claim 2, wherein the relationship scoring system (170)which quantifies the participation of other users (114) for each user'sgoals (116) are configured to be utilized over time to determine auser's standing, including reputational and endorsement equity, that maybe considered by others and may be utilized to facilitate recruitment ofother parties to serve as a resource in the social trade-off analysis inmaking the purchase or procurement related decision and/or to influenceaccountability on the part of the user and/or related parties, and/or tocontribute to the value amplification and/or to provide the goods orservices to fulfill the goal and/or to be compensated through acombination of equity noted above for the support they may provide inthe purchase/procurement and related decision-making.
 5. The Internetbased user controlled value amplification system (100) according toclaim 1, wherein the host electronic network platform (110) providesusers feedback in the form of curation, advice, social trade-offanalysis and/or voting from the user's well-wishing community throughwhich a more informed goal is identified, refined or canceled which mayoccur through feedback loops and mechanisms within the platform amongthe various collaborators resulting in errors/defects in the goods orservices that constitute the goal to be fixed and/or the goods orservices to be enhanced with features/functionality and/ormanufacturing/delivery-efficiency and/or personalization of a moregeneric good or service includes the ability to capture a goal fromeither the physical environment, media environment, digital environment,or virtual worlds and which then drives the development of the valueamplification plan (118) associated with each individual account (112)and wherein the host electronic network platform (110) monitors a valueamplification plan (118) associated with each individual account (112)and provides visual indication of the amount of progress of the valueamplification plan (118).
 6. The Internet based user controlled valueamplification system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the hostelectronic network platform (110) wherein the host electronic networkplatform (110) provides users feedback in the form of curation, advice,social trade-off analysis and/or voting through which a more informedgoal (116) is identified, refined or canceled and which drives thedevelopment of the value amplification plan (118) associated with eachindividual account (112).
 7. The Internet based user controlled valueamplification system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the “store ofvalue” provider interface (130) on the host network platform (110) isconfigured to assist in credit underwriting by at least one associated“store of value” provider (132) associated with a user's goal (116). 8.The Internet based user controlled value amplification system (100)according to claim 1, wherein the “store of value” provider interface(130) on the host network platform (110) reviews a plurality ofdepository account types offered by a plurality of financialinstitutions in the establishment of each individual account (112) as adepository account with one associated “store of value” provider (132),wherein such review can include arbitrage across such different “storeof value” provider (132) to obtain the best offer/rate/terms to optimizereturn for the user (114).
 9. The Internet based user controlled valueamplification system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the goalauthoring tool (120) assists individual platform users (114) indiscovery and articulation of specific goals (116) to be assigned toeach individual account (112) of the user (114) through the use ofquestionnaires filled out by the user (114) and images uploaded by theuser (114).
 10. The Internet based user controlled value amplificationsystem (100) according to claim 1, further including a collaborativevalue amplification tool (150) which includes enabling the user (114) todesignate a set of social network users associated with an individualuser's account that form the user's designated well-wishing communityand to whom the user-aspiration are narrowcast or designated subsetthereof, whereby the user (114) is empowered to send information to alimited set of users securely such that no one outside the narrowcastgroup obtains the requests.
 11. The Internet based user controlled valueamplification system (100) according to claim 10, wherein system (100)can receive and assign monetary amounts to an individual's user account(112) from any member of the user's designated well-wishing community.12. The Internet based user controlled value amplification system (100)according to claim 10, wherein the system (100) is configured such thatthe user (114) may be any one of an individual, plurality ofindividuals, and organization or plurality of organizations and wherebythe parties donating to the user (114) may be any one of an individual,plurality of individuals, and organization or plurality oforganizations, and wherein a plurality of “store of value” providers(132) access the system (100) through the store of value providerinterface (132) and a plurality of goods or services providers (142)access the system (100) through the goods and/or services providerinterface (140).
 13. The Internet based user controlled valueamplification system (100) according to claim 10, wherein the hostelectronic network platform (110) provides users feedback in the form ofcuration, advice, social trade-off analysis and/or voting from theuser's well-wishing community through which a more informed goal (116)is identified, refined or canceled and which drives the development ofthe value amplification plan associated with each individual account.14. The Internet based user controlled value amplification system (100)according to claim 10, wherein the collaborative value amplificationtool (150) includes group purchasing discounts and/or access to goods orservices which would not be accessible without the collective groupbuying power attributable to an individual user's accounts (112) whereina group is formed by a collection of individual platform user's havingaligned goals (116), and wherein the groups may include the user(s),their well-wishing community(ities) and related parties (including thestore of value providers and/or good or services providers, includingany incentives/rewards they may provide).
 15. The Internet based usercontrolled value amplification system (100) according to claim 14,wherein the collaborative value amplification tool (150) includescontent co-creation by the individual platform users (114), by anycombination of the goods and/or services providers (142), “store ofvalue” providers (132), members of the user designated well-wishingcommunity and/or user designated broader audience, or the host networkplatform (110) itself.
 16. The Internet based user controlled valueamplification system (100) according to claim 10, wherein the system(100) is configured to utilize the specific goal (116) of the user(114), other user information and the user's progress with the givenplan (118) to perform credit or insurance underwriting associated withthe specific aspiration goal (116) of the user (114).
 17. The Internetbased user controlled value amplification system (100) according toclaim 10, wherein the collaborative value amplification tool (150)includes gamification of individual accounts (112), includinggamification by any combination of the goods an/or services providers(142), “store of value” providers (132), members of the user designatedwell-wishing community and/or user designated broader audience, or thehost network platform (110) itself.
 18. An internet based usercontrolled value amplification social network system comprising: A hostelectronic network platform configured to host individual accounts for aplurality of individual users, wherein each individual account isassigned an goal of goods and/or services by the account user, andwherein the host electronic network platform develops, modifies andmonitors a value amplification plan associated with each individualaccount; An goal authoring tool on the network platform configured toassist individual platform users in discovery and articulation ofspecific goals to be assigned to each individual account of the user,and to assign at least an initial monetary goal amount associated withthe individual account based upon the specific goal assigned to theaccount; A financial institution interface on the network platformconfigured to engage with at least one financial institution and toassociate each individual account with one associated depository accountwith one associated financial institution; Collaborative valueamplification amplifications tool interacting with the host electronicnetwork platform and configured to increase the effective monetaryamounts in an individual account to advance the value amplification planto the goal above the principal contributions of the user, wherein thecollaborative value amplification tool includes at least a socialnetwork based crowdfunding of a specific goal assigned to one of anindividual user's accounts by a user designated well-wishing community;and group purchasing discounts attributable to an individual user'saccounts wherein a group for group purchasing is formed by a collectionof individual platform user's having aligned goals; and A goods orservices provider interface on the host network platform configured toengage with a plurality of goods or services providers of goods andservices associated with each goal of each individual account, andwherein the system is configured to have the goods or services providersinvolved in discovery and articulation of specific goals to be assignedto each individual account of the user, and in delivering the goods orservices associated with attaining a specific goal directly to the user.19. A method of implementing user controlled value amplification forspecific goods and/or services comprising the steps of: Providing a hostelectronic network platform configured to host individual accounts for aplurality of individual platform users; Identifying a specific goal tobe assigned to each individual account of the user with an goalauthoring tool on the host electronic network platform accessible by theindividual platform users Assigning an goal of specific goods and/orservices including an initial monetary goal amount by the account userto each individual user's account; Developing, Monitoring and Modifyinga value amplification plan associated with each individual account bythe host electronic network platform; Establishing each individualaccount as a depository account with an associated financial institutionthrough the host electronic network platform; Amplifying the effectivemonetary amounts in an individual account to advance the valueamplification plan to the goal above the principal contributions of theuser and the interest earned on the principal contributions of the user;and Utilizing the specific goal of the user, other user information andthe user's progress with the given plan to perform credit or insuranceunderwriting associated with the specific aspiration goal of the user.20. The method of implementing user controlled value amplification forspecific goods and/or services according to claim 19 further includingthe steps of coordinating the delivery of the goods and serviceassociated with the goal of an individual account to the user from thegoods or services provider when the value amplification plan associatedwith that individual account has been achieved; and coordinating thetransfer of monetary amount from an individual account to the goods orservices provider for the goods and service associated with the goal thewhen the value amplification plan associated with that individualaccount has been achieved.